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University  of  California  •  Berkeley 

THE  PETER  AND  ROSELL  HARVEY 
MEMORIAL  FUND 


VOYAGE  TO  THE  NOETH  PACIFIC 


AND 


A  JOURNEY  THROUGH   SIBERIA 


MORE  THAN  HALF  A  CENTURY  AGO. 


BY    CAPTAIN   JOHN   D'WOLF. 


CAMBRID  GE: 
WELCH,    BIGELOW,    AND    COMPANY, 

PRINTERS  TO   THE  UNIVERSITY. 
1861. 


PREFACE. 


MY  only  object  in  combining  the  reminiscences  and 
memoranda  of  my  first  voyage  as  shipmaster  into  a 
connected  narrative,  is  to  leave  some  slight  record  of 
that  voyage  in  my  family.  Although  I  am  not  one  of 
those  who  regard  everything  beyond  the  smoke  of  their 
own  chimneys  as  marvellous,  I  think  my  expedition 
to  the  Northwest  Coast  was  made  a  little  remarkable 
from  the  circumstance  that  I  met  at  Norfolk  Sound 
his  Excellency  Baron  von  Resanoff,  to  whom  I  sold 
my  vessel,  and  then  crossed  the  North  Pacific  in  a 
little  craft  of  twenty-five  tons  burden,  and  after  an 
overland  journey  of  fifty-five  hundred  miles  returned 
home  by  the  way  of  St  Petersburg.  This  was  a  voyage 
and  travels  more  than  half  a  century  ago,  and  I  was 
probably  the  first  American  who  passed  through  Siberia. 
I  know  that  others  have  claimed  to  be  the  first,  and 
have  published  descriptions  of  the  country ;  but  I  had 
gone  over  the  same  route  before  any  of  these  claimants 


iv 

were  born.  I  have  often  regretted  that  I  did  not  make 
any  note  of  what  I  saw,  and  that  I  had  not  the  requisite 
qualifications  to  write  an  extended  account  of  it ;  but 
business  called  my  thoughts  in  other  directions.  I 
must  now  be  content  to  give  this  imperfect  sketch, 
the  materials  of  which  are  drawn  principally  from 
memory. 


VOYAGE. 


I. 


THE  SHIP  JUNO.  —  HER  OUTFIT.  —  AND  VOYAGE  TO  THE  NORTHWEST 

COAST. 

I  COMMENCED  a  seafaring  life  at  the  early  age 
of  thirteen,  and  followed  it  through  all  its 
changes,  continually  rising  in  rank,  until  I 
reached  my  twenty-fourth  year.  Then,  after  a 
series  of  long  voyages  to  the  eastward  of  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope  as  chief  mate,  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1804  I  returned  to  my  native  town, 
resolved  on  a  short  respite  of  a  few  months 
from  a  close  application  of  eleven  years.  I  had 
enjoyed  this  leisure  but  a  little  while,  however, 
when  my  employers,  Messrs.  Charles,  James,  and 
George  D'Wolf,  purchased  a  fine  ship,  called  the 
Juno,  of  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  tons  bur- 
den, and  projected  a  voyage  to  the  Northwest 
Coast  of  America  to  collect  furs  for  the  China 


market.  They  proposed  that  I  should  take  the 
command.  I  had  no  expectation  of  such  an 
offer,  since  I  thought  myself  too  young  and 
inexperienced  to  enter  upon  an  entirely  new 
branch  of  trade,  and  entertained  some  misgiv- 
ings of  my  qualifications  for  such  an  enterprise. 
At  the  same  time  I  could  not  so  far  doubt  my 
abilities  as  to  neglect  so  advantageous  an  oppor- 
tunity, and  I  therefore  accepted  the  trust. 

Having  engaged  in  the  undertaking,  we  lost 
no  time  in  making  the  necessary  arrangements, 
in  procuring  a  cargo  suitable  for  traffic,  and  in 
preparing  the  vessel  for  the  voyage.  When 
ready  for  sea,  the  Juno  and  her  lading  were 
valued  at  $  35,000.  The  Juno  at  that  day  was 
considered  a  crack  ship,  and  her  outfit  embraced 
all  that  was  needed  for  both  comfort  and  conven- 
ience. She  mounted  eight  carriage  guns,  and  was 
otherwise  armed  in  proportion,  and  when  hauled 
into  the  stream  presented  quite  a  formidable  and 
warlike  appearance.  Such  an  equipment  was 
essential  in  her  time  for  the  dangerous  business 
for  which  she  was  destined.  The  crew  also  would 
now  be  considered  too  large  for  a  craft  of  the 
same  tonnage,  —  for  it  numbered  twenty-six 
men  and  boys,  viz. :  Samuel  G.  Newell,  First 
Mate  ;  John  A.  Thomas,  Second  Mate ;  James 


Moorfield,  Clerk  ;  Eichard  Cammett,  Joseph 
Hooper,  Armorers ;  Thomas  Hunt,  Boatswain ; 
John  Jones,  Carpenter;  D.  Bucklin,  E.  Bucklin, 
W.  H.  Tripp,  D.  Tatton,  J.  Stokes,  J.  Wheeler, 
W.  Foy,  J.  Marshall,  J.  D.  Cook,  W.  Phipps, 
J.  Wheesner,  J.  Powers,  S.  Patterson,  Seamen  ; 
J.  Hanson,  Cook  ;  E.  D.  Parker,  Musician ;  K. 
Hitchcock,  Tailor ;  T.  Murphy,  J.  Mahoney,  boys. 
Thus  manned  and  equipped,  we  took  leave 
of  our  friends,  weighed  anchor,  and  put  to  sea 
011  the  13th  of  August,  1804. 

Having  now  fairly  embarked  again  on  the 
ocean,  which  had  become  a  home  to  me,  I  be- 
gan immediately  to  attend  to  those  duties  which 
its  dangers  imposed.  Our  anchors  and  cables 
were  soon  stowed  away,  the  crew  divided,  the 
watch  set,  and  everything  prepared  for  all  winds 
and  weathers.  We  sailed  in  a  southeasterly  di- 
rection, with  light  breezes,  and  for  a  number  of 
days  nothing  varied  the  monotony  which  the  sea 
wears  to  those  who  have  been  long  accustomed 
to  it.  On  the  20th  of  September  we  saw  at 
a  distance  St.  Antonio,  one  of  the  Cape  de 
Verde  Islands.  We  then  bent  our"  course  to 
the  south,  and  were  favored  with  fine  leading 
winds  until  we  reached  that  region  of  the  ocean 
between  the  northeast  and  southeast  trade-winds, 


which  is  doomed  to  perpetual  squalls  and  calms, 
thunder,  lightning,  and  rain.  This  vexatious 
weather  was  the  source  of  one  advantage,  how- 
ever. It  afforded  an  opportunity  for  filling  our 
water-casks,  which  was  essential  in  the  long  voy- 
age and  moderate  progress  we  were  making. 

On  the  9th  of  November  we  crossed  the  equa- 
tor in  longitude  24°  W.  Fifty-six  days  to  the 
line  !  Well,  this  certainly  seems  to  be  a  long 
passage  in  comparison  with  those  made  in  more 
modern  times  by  the  straight  course  pointed  out 
by  Lieut.  Maury.  Yet  the  difference  is  not  so 
very  extraordinary,  when  we  consider  the  im- 
provements in  the  sciences  of  navigation  and 
naval  architecture.  Clippers  may  pursue  a  route 
with  impunity  which  was  not  so  safe  or  practi- 
cable for  the  square-built,  seven-knot  ships  of 
half  a  century  ago.  The  straight  course  was 
by  no  means  unknown  in  those  days,  and  it 
was  sometimes  followed ;  but  with  dull  sailing 
vessels  it  was  necessary  to  be  more  cautious,  and 
make  their  "  easting "  while  in  the  region  of 
variable  winds.  That  we  crossed  the  Atlantic, 
in  my  time,  thrice,  as  it  is  said,  in  going  to 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  I  deny.  A  majority  of 
the  passages  made  by  the  circuitous  track  would 
compare  favorably  with  those  made  now  by  the 


same  class  of  ships,  notwithstanding  the  superior 
knowledge  of  winds  and  currents,  and  the  nu- 
merous nautical  instruments  of  which  sea-cap- 
tains avail  themselves.  At  all  events,  navigation 
is  not  now  carried  on  with  more,  if  as  much 
safety  as  formerly.  Inducements  are  held  out, 
in  these  go-ahead  days,  to  make  quick  passages, 
regardless  of  ship  and  cargo,  and  the  interests 
of  the  underwriters.  Too  implicit  reliance  is 
placed  on  instruments  and  figures  at  the  ex- 
pense of  that  most  essential  point  in  navigation, 
a  vigilant  lookout,  and  to  the  neglect  of  the 
use  of  the  lead. 

October  10th.  We  fell  in  with  a  large  Span- 
ish ship  from  Havana  for  Kio  Janeiro,  ninety 
days  out.  Being  now  several  degrees  in  south 
latitude,  the  weather  was  serene  and  the  sea 
smooth ;  there  was  a  fine  breeze  from  the  south- 
east. On  the  12th,  we  spoke  a  Portuguese  ship 
from  Oporto,  also  bound  to  Eio  Janeiro.  She 
had  a  large  number  of  passengers  on  board, 
many  of  whom  were  sick,  as  they  were  desti- 
tute of  all  kinds  of  vegetables.  I  supplied  them 
with  potatoes  and  onions,  for  which  they  were 
very  grateful,  and  presented  in  return  a  quan- 
tity of  Port  wine.  A  continuance  of  the  pleas- 
ant weather  enabled  us  to  make  various  repairs 


6 


in  the  rigging,  which  had  been  drenched  and 
buffeted  by  incessant  tempests  to  the  north  of 
the  line.  The  change  seemed  to  put  new  life 
and  animation  into  the  whole  crew.  All  hands 
were  actively  employed  with  a  good  will  in 
their  various  departments,  —  the  armorers  at  the 
forge,  the  carpenter  fitting  the  boats  for  service 
on  the  coast,  the  sailmakers  upon  the  sails.  Thus 
the  vessel  was  put  in  fine  condition  for  meeting 
the  rough  gales  of  Cape  Horn.  These  we  began 
to  encounter  in  lat.  40°  S. 

November  12th,  lat.  48°  S.,  long.  51°  W.,  we 
fell  in  with  the  ship  Mary,  of  Boston,  Capt. 
Trescott,  bound  to  the  Northwest  Coast  of 
America,  and  I  agreed  to  keep  company  with 
him  until  we  had  doubled  the  Cape.  This  ar- 
rangement could  be  no  impediment  to  our  pro- 
gress, as  our  vessels  were  nearly  equal  sailers.  — 
November  15th,  we  saw  the  Falkland  Islands 
bearing  from  southeast  to  southwest,  fifteen 
miles  distant.  From  our  longitude  we  judged 
ourselves  to  be  nearer  the  western  extremity, 
but  the  wind  inclining  westward  compelled  us  to 
pass  to  the  eastward  of  them.  —  November  19th, 
the  wind  from  the  westward  increased  to  a  gale, 
with  a  heavy  swell,  which  brought  both  ships 
under  short  sail.  At  eight,  P.  M.,  the  Mary  bore 


upon  our  weather  quarter,  about  two  miles  dis- 
tant. At  ten,  the  wind  continuing  the  same,  I 
left  the  deck,  charging  the  officer  of  the  watch 
to  be  careful  that  we  did  not  approach  each  other 
too  near.  At  daylight  it  was  perceived  that  she 
had  approached  us  considerably,  though  she  still 
held  a  position  on  the  weather  quarter  at  a 
sufficient  distance  to  be  out  of  danger.  But 
through  inattention  of  the  officer  on  board  the 
Mary  to  the  steering,  she  was  brought  under 
our  lee  within  hail ;  of  this  I  was  not  informed 
by  the  mate  in  command  on  the  deck.  The 
Juno  was  making  but  slow  progress  through 
the  water,  being  under  short  sail,  with  a  heavy 
sea  running,  and  obliged  to  keep  close  to  the 
wind  in  order  to  avoid  a  collision.  In  this  way, 
the  ship's  headway  would  be  so  checked  that 
she  would  fall  off  two  or  three  points,  regardless 
of  the  helm.  While  thus  situated,  the  Mary  was 
in  the  act  of  coming  to,  and  the  Juno  falling  off, 
when,  before  either  ship  had  gained  sufficient 
headway  to  be  under  quick  command  of  the 
helm,  our  whole  broadsides  came  into  contact 
with  a  crash  that  made  every  timber  quake.  I 
immediately  rushed  on  deck,  and  beheld  with 
amazement  our  perilous  situation.  In  which, 
spite  of  all  our  efforts  to  get  clear,  we  remained 


8 


nearly  fifteen  minutes,  cutting  and  tearing  up 
our  bulwarks,  channels,  and  plank-sheer,  and 
making  sad  work  with  our  rigging.  Finally  we 
separated,  and  without  apparently  sustaining  any 
injury  below  our  plank-sheer. 

This  may  be  an  uninteresting  matter  for  record 
to  many,  but  it  is  one  of  those  casualties  which 
not  unfrequently  occur  from  a  reckless  neglect, 
or  a  want  of  ordinary  judgment,  and  yet  where 
no  one  is  willing  to  acknowledge  himself  at  fault. 
They  show  that  caution  is  to  be  regarded  as  a 
cardinal  point  of  practical  navigation.  I  am 
bold  to  say,  that,  if  I  had  been  apprised  of  our 
proximity,  the  collision  would  never  have  taken 
place. 

When  endeavoring  to  extricate  the  two  ships, 
Mr.  Stetson,  first  mate  of  the  Mary,  while  on  a 
poise  upon  her  railing,  to  save  himself  from  fall- 
ing overboard,  made  a  leap  for  the  Juno,  and 
landed  on  her  deck.  In  the  course  of  the  day 
the  weather  became  more  moderate,  and  we  put 
him  aboard  his  own  ship  and  continued  our 
course  without  attempting  to  keep  company  with 
her.  We  were  favored  with  mild  weather  until 
the  24th,  which  brought  us  into  lat.  56°  S.  Here 
commenced  a  series  of  very  severe  gales  from 
the  westward,  which  continued  with  unabated 


9 


violence  for  ten  days.  On  the  5th  of  December 
the  wind  veered  to  the  southward,  which  ena- 
bled us  to  make  some  progress,  so  that  on  the 
10th  I  judged  myself  fairly  to  the  north  and 
west  of  the  Cape,  and  a  fine  southwest  wind  was 
carrying  us  fast  from  it.  On  the  13th,  as  luck 
would  have  it,  we  fell  in  again  with  our  old  con- 
sort, the  Mary,  and  sailed  along  with  her  until 
the  29th.  Being  then  in  lat.  44°  S.  and  long. 
85°  W.,  I  deemed  it  expedient  to  hold  a  consul- 
tation with  my  officers  on  the  propriety  of  touch- 
ing upon  the  coast  of  Chili,  in  preference  to  the 
Sandwich  Islands,  which  was  our  previous  inten- 
tion. This  was  thought  advisable  on  account  of 
the  damage  sustained  during  our  boisterous  pas- 
sage of  one  hundred  and  thirty-eight  days.  The 
copper  on  the  ship's  bottom,  which  had  been 
worn  as  thin  as  paper  during  a  previous  long 
voyage  of  three  years,  had  now  become  full  of 
holes,  and  was  torn  off  in  many  places  by  whole 
sheets.  This  and  other  injuries  which  could  not 
be  repaired  at  sea,  in  addition  to  the  fact  that 
all  our  fuel  was  consumed  except  that  stowed 
under  the  cargo,  and  on  this  account  we  had  for 
some  time  been  obliged  to  dispense  with  cook- 
ing oftener  than  once  a  week,  induced  us  to  part 
company  again  with  the  Mary,  and  shape  our 


10 


course  for  Concepcion.  I  was  well  aware  of  the 
natural  and  deep-rooted  jealousy  of  the  Span- 
iards ;  but  while  I  apprehended  trouble  on  this 
score,  I  was  determined  to  find  admittance  to 
some  port,  after  having  relinquished  my  original 
scheme  of  visiting  the  Sandwich  Islands. 

On  the  1st  of  January,  1805,  at  2  P.M.,  we  saw 
land  bearing  from  southeast  to  northeast,  fifteen 
miles  distant,  and  shortly  after  the  island  of  St. 
Maria.  At  the  same  time  we  saw  a  ship  standing 
out  from  the  shore,  which  we  spoke.  She  was  a 
whaler  from  New  Bedford.  The  wind  was  blow- 
ing so  hard  that  we  could  learn  nothing  further. 
At  sunset  it  had  died  away,  and  left  us  still  four 
or  five  miles  off  Concepcion.  As  it  was  not 
practicable  to  make  the  harbor  in  the  night-time, 
we  tacked  ship  and  stood  out  from  the  coast, 
with  a  view  to  holding  our  situation  to  the  wind- 
ward until  morning,  and  at  midnight  we  tacked 
and  stood  in  again.  At  daybreak,  however,  we 
found  the  current  had  set  us  a  considerable  dis- 
tance north  of  our  port.  I  accordingly  resolved 
to  make  sail  for  Valparaiso  ;  since  that  was 
the  principal  port  in  Chili,  we  had  reason  to 
anticipate  a  better  reception  than  at  any  place 
of  less  note,  where  our  presence  might  have 
excited  unjust  suspicions  of  unlawful  trade.  Our 


11 


sole  object  was  to  repair  our  vessel  and  obtain 
supplies  for  our  voyage,  and  these  by  the  laws 
of  humanity  they  could  not  in  justice  refuse  us. 
The  weather  continued  remarkably  serene  and 
pleasant,  with  light  breezes  and  frequent  calms ; 
and  as  we  coasted  along  within  eight  or  ten  miles 
of  the  shore,  we  had  a  most  splendid  view  of  the 
Andes,  towering  far  above  the  clouds.  On  the 
morning  of  the  8th,  we  entered  the  bay  of  Val- 
paraiso. Before  we  reached  a  safe  anchorage, 
we  were  visited  by  an  officer  from  the  Governor, 
whp  requested  to  know  who  we  were,  whence 
we  came,  and  the  object  of  our  visit,  —  all  of 
which  I  explained  to  his  apparent  satisfaction. 
The  boat  then  returned  to  the  shore  with  a 
message  to  the  Governor,  while  the  officer  re- 
mained on  board,  saying  that  he  could  not  suffer 
us  to  anchor  until  he  received  orders.  But  before 
the  boat  returned,  the  ship  had  reached  the 
anchorage  ground,  and  we  came  to  immediately, 
notwithstanding  his  remonstrances.  The  boat 
brought  a  peremptory  command  to  leave  the 
bay;  but  this  was  out  of  the  question,  and  so 
I  as  peremptorily  refused.  I  was  summoned 
before  the  Governor  to  present  my  papers  for 
examination,  and  account  for  my  conduct.  After 
examining  my  invoices  and  other  documents, 


12 


and  listening  to  a  candid  explanation  of  the 
reasons  which  induced  me  to  come  into  port, 
he  was  convinced  that  my  destination  was  the 
Northwest  Coast.  I  was  accordingly  permitted 
to  remain  until  I  received  further  orders  from 
the  Governor-General,  at  St.  Jago,  to  whom  a 
messenger  was  despatched.  In  the  mean  time 
I  was  allowed  to  take  on  board  as  much  wood 
and  water,  and  fresh  provisions,  as  I  chose.  The 
harbor  was  too  rough  and  exposed  to  make  the 
repairs  we  needed,  and  therefore  we  weighed 
anchor  and  sailed  for  Coquimbo,  where  we  arrived 
on  the  20th,  and  dropped  anchor  in  six  fathoms 
of  water,  on  the  west  side  of  the  bay,  about  eight 
miles  from  the  town.  Here  we  remained  until 
the  28th,  when,  having  completed  our  repairs  as 
far  as  practicable,  we  put  to  sea  with  a  fine  breeze 
from  the  south. 

When  we  reached  4°  S.  lat.,  we  had  series  of 
calms,  with  pleasant  weather,  and  a  very  smooth 
sea.  In  this  neighborhood  we  saw  great  numbers 
of  green  turtle,  and  by  capturing  several  we 
added  a  delicacy  to  our  larder.  February  20th, 
between  9  and  11  A.  M.,  I  obtained  several  dis- 
tances of  the  sun  and  moon,  the  mean  of  which 
made  the  long.  108°  W. ;  at  meridian,  I  found 
we  had  crossed  the  equator  into  north  latitude. 


13 


The  wind  continued  very  light  and  variable  until 
the  4th  of  March,  when  it  inclined  to  the  north- 
east. On  the  16th,  we  crossed  the  Tropic  of 
Cancer.  At  this  point  the  winds  again  became 
variable  and  squally.  On  the  7th  of  April,  we 
had  strong  gales  and  threatening  sky,  with  rain 
at  intervals.  At  8  P.  M.  of  that  date  I  put  the 
ship  under  short  sail,  and  hauled  upon  the  wind 
to  the  northward,  deeming  it  imprudent  to  con- 
tinue on  our  course  through  the  night,  because, 
by  my  calculations,  we  were  in  the  vicinity  of 
land.  In  the  morning  the  weather  moderated, 
and  at  5  A.  M.  we  saw  land  bearing  from  north- 
northeast  to  east,  which  proved  to  be  the  north- 
ern part  of  Vancouver's  Island.  At  2  P.  M.  we 
saw  Scott's  Island  bearing  north-northwest,  six- 
teen miles  distant.  At  nightfall  the  clouds  wore 
an  ugly  look  •  so  we  hauled  by  the  wind  to  the 
westward,  under  short  sail.  At  midnight  we 
had  a  heavy  blow,  but  it  died  away  by  light,  and 
we  saw  Scott's  Island  again ;  at  9  A.  M.  it  bore 
south,  five  miles.  The  wind  beginning  again  to 
rise,  I  determined  if  possible  to  make  a  harbor 
before  night.  With  this  intention  I  shaped  my 
course  for  Newettee. 

Newettee  was  a  small  inlet  in  the  northwestern 
promontory  of  Vancouver's  Island,  and  sheltered 


14 


from  the  sea  by  a  long  island  running  nearly 
east  and  west.  Between  the  two  was  a  strait, 
through  which  we  must  enter  to  gain  our  port. 
As  we  drew  near  the  entrance,  the  wind  became 
very  light,  and  at  sunset  we  were  still  three  miles 
from  it.  Being  myself  entirely  unacquainted 
with  the  coast,  I  was  inclined  to  lay  off  until 
morning ;  but  my  officers  were  all  more  or  less 
familiar  with  it,  and  so  positive  of  their  knowl- 
edge that  I  concluded  to  proceed.  At  eight  in 
the  evening  we  crossed  the  bar  at  the  mouth  of 
the  strait,  and  entered.  The  wind  had  fallen 
now  to  a  dead  calm,  and  left  us  exposed  to  a 
very  strong  current,  which  carried  us  toward  an 
inlet  in  the  island  to  the  north  of  us ;  and  at 
the  same  time  it  was  evident  that  we  were  ap- 
proaching the  shore  very  fast.  Nothing  could 
surpass  the  terrific  appearance  of  the  scenery ; 
perpendicular  cliffs  towered  from  the  water's  edge 
to  a  lofty  height,  against  which  the  sea  beat  with 
great  violence.  The  ship  getting  no  steerage- 
way  from  her  sails,  and  being  in  fact  entirely 
unmanageable,  we  hoisted  out  our  boats  to  tow. 
The  long-boat,  which  was  of  the  most  conse- 
quence, sunk  alongside  ;  the  yawl  and  the  whale- 
boat  were  both  got  ahead,  but  were  so  light  that 
they  had  very  little  effect  on  the  vessel.  We 


15 


were  now  within  three  rods  of  a  high  projecting 
point,  and  the  soundings  showed  forty-five  fath- 
oms of  water.  We  let  go  the  kedge-anchor  to 
keep  the  bow  off,  and  it  had  the  desired  effect. 
By  great  exertions  in  the  boats,  assisted  in  the 
ship  by  the  application  of  all  the  oars  we  had, 
we  barely  succeeded  in  keeping  clear  of  the  rocks, 
which  could  now  be  reached  with  an  oar.  As 
the  tide  swept  us  along,  we  were  threatened  with 
destruction  by  every  sea  which  dashed  against 
them.  At  length,  by  the  aid  of  a  light  air  which 
sprung  up,  we  got  out  of  the  irregular  current 
near  the  shore,  and,  slipping  our  cable  and  leav- 
ing our  anchor,  moved  towards  the  harbor  on 
the  south  side  of  the  straits.  When  about  two 
thirds  of  the  way  across,  I  despatched  a  boat  with 
an  officer  to  find  the  entrance.  The  boat  not 
returning  in  due  time,  I  discharged  a  musket  as 
a  signal.  It  was  answered  from  a  vessel  lying 
within,  and  shortly  after  one  of  the  officers  came 
aboard  from  her,  and  informed  us  that  it  was 
the  ship  Pearl  of  Boston,  Capt.  Ebbets.  He  very 
politely  offered  to  pilot  us  in,  and  by  his  assist- 
ance we  were  soon  brought  safely  to  anchor  in 
fifteen  fathoms  of  water.  This  was  the  10th  of 
April,  1805. 


II. 


NEWETTEE  AND  THE  NATIVES.  —  KYGARNEY.  —  NORFOLK  SOUND.  —  SELL 
PART  OP  MY  CARGO  TO  THE  RUSSIANS.  —  GOVERNOR  BARANOFF.  — 
CHATHAM  STRAITS.  —  NEWETTEE  AGAIN.  —  RETURN  TO  CHATHAM 
STRAITS.  —  TRADE  WITH  THE  INDIANS.  —  ON  THE  ROCKS.  —  SAIL  TO 
NORFOLK  SOUND  FOR  REPAIRS.  —  ARRIVAL  OF  RESANOFF  AND  PARTY. 
—  THE  JUNO  SOLD  TO  THE  RUSSIANS.  —  DEPARTURE  OF  MY  CREW  FOR 
CANTON. 

AT  last  I  was  at  anchor  on  the  Northwest  Coast. 
Newettee  was  one  of  the  southernmost  harbors 
frequented  by  American  fur-traders,  being  in 
lat.  51°  N.,  and  long.  128°  W.  It  was  nothing 
more  than  a  nook,  as  I  said  before,  in  the  north- 
ern end  of  Vancouver's  Island.  We  found  it  tol- 
erably well  sheltered  from  all  winds  except  those 
from  the  north  and  northeast;  on  this  quarter 
it  was  exposed  to  a  reach  of  about  three  miles. 
As  the  prevalent  wind  during  our  stay  of  ten 
days  was  from  the  south  and  southwest,  we  lay 
in  perfect  safety,  notwithstanding  it  was  one 
continued  gale,  accompanied  with  hail  and  rain. 
Everything  around  us,  the  sea,  the  sky,  and  the 
precipitous  shore,  covered  with  a  forest  of  heavy 


17 


timber,  wore  a  most  gloomy  aspect.  The  Indians 
had  no  permanent  residence  here,  but  made  it 
merely  a  place  of  resort  for  traffic  on  the  arri- 
val of  ships.  For  this  purpose  it  was  considered 
at  certain  seasons  one  of  the  best  harbors  on 
the  coast,  as  there  are  many  large  villages  in 
its  vicinity.  We  were  visited  daily  by  a  great 
number  of  the  Indians,  who  generally  brought 
with  them  a  few  sea-otter  skins,  but  not  enough 
to  make  trade  brisk.  They  were  exceedingly 
sharp  in  all  their  intercourse  with  us,  being  great 
beggars,  withal.  It  seemed  impossible  to  satisfy 
them  for  their  skins,  and  they  were  ready  to 
grasp  at  everything  they  saw.  They  were  a  very 
stout  and  robust  people,  and  in  some  things  not 
destitute  of  skill.  Their  boats  were  hewn  from 
a  single  log,  and  varied  in  size  from  sixteen  feet 
in  length  and  three  in  breadth,  to  thirty-five  in 
length  and  six  in  breadth.  Their  paddles  were 
made  and  ornamented  with  a  great  deal  of  neat- 
ness. 

Deriving  but  little  benefit  from  our  traffic,  we 
employed  ourselves  in  putting  the  ship  in  good 
order  for  beating  about  the  coast.  By  the  20th 
we  had  completed  our  work,  and  weighed  an- 
chor, and  put  to  sea  in  company  with  the  Pearl, 
directing  our  course  to  the  northward  for  Ky- 

3 


18 


garney,  a  harbor  in  lat.  54°  30'  N.,  which,  from 
its  central  situation,  is  considered  the  best 
place  of  resort  for  ships  on  their  first  arrival, 
to  obtain  information  for  establishing  a  rate  of 
trade.  For  several  days  we  sailed  in  a  thick  fog, 
which,  lifting  at  intervals,  showed  us  different 
points  of  Queen  Charlotte's  Island.  We  gained 
our  port  on  the  27th,  and  found  there  the  ships 
Vancouver,  Captain  Brown,  and  Caroline,  Cap- 
tain Sturgis,  both  of  Boston;  the  latter,  having 
obtained  her  cargo,  about  to  leave  the  coast  for 
Canton. 

During  our  stay  here  we  got  in  a  new  mizen- 
mast  in  place  of  the  old  one,  which  was  sprung, 
and  furnished  our  vessel  with  such  other  spars 
as  we  thought  we  should  need.  We  were  daily 
visited  by  the  Indians,  who  generally  brought 
a  few  skins ;  but  they  were  so  extravagant  in 
their  demands  for  them  that  it  was  impossible 
to  trade.  We  frequently  had  thirty  or  forty 
lying  about  the  decks  the  whole  day  long,  en- 
deavoring to  extort  unreasonable  prices  for  their 
furs,  at  the  same  time  affecting  the  utmost  in- 
difference whether  they  sold  them  or  not.  Oc- 
casionally they  were  quite  insulting ;  but  policy 
induced  us  to  put  up  with  insults,  in  hopes  of 
driving  a  bargain. 


19 


The  numerous  inlets  in  the  vicinity  abounded 
with  salmon,  and  every  other  variety  of  fish,  and 
wild  game  was  very  plenty.  But  on  the  whole 
the  harbor  was  poor  and  unsafe.  The  land  here, 
as  at  Newettee,  was  exceedingly  elevated,  rising 
abruptly  from  the  shore,  and  covered  with  heavy 
timber,  chiefly  of  the  fir  kind.  The  water  is  very 
deep,  which  compelled  a  vessel  to  anchor  so  near 
the  land  as  to  be  exposed  to  any  hostile  dem- 
onstration on  the  part  of  the  savages.  Attacks 
were  not  rare  when  only  one  ship  was  in  port. 
From  long  intercourse  with  American  traders, 
the  natives  had  become  extremely  expert  in  the 
use  of  the  musket,  in  the  choice  of  which  they 
showed  great  judgment  and  sagacity,  and  inva- 
riably selected  a  king's  arm  in  preference  to  the 
most  finished  fowling-piece.  On  account  of  the 
many  instances  of  bloodshed  by  them,  they  were 
not  allowed  to  come  on  board  armed,  but  it  was 
necessary  to  show  them  every  indulgence  within 
the  bounds  of  prudence. 

Not  being  likely  to  receive  much  benefit  from 
a  longer  stay  here,  I  resolved  to  proceed  at  once 
to  the  settlement  of  the  Russians  on  Norfolk 
Sound,  since  a  great  part  of  my  cargo  consisted 
of  articles  adapted  to  their  use.  We  had  rum, 
tobacco,  molasses,  sugar,  rice,  wooden  ware,  duf- 


20 


fels,  &c.,  which  the  Indians  will  take  only  as  pres- 
ents, as  well  as  those  commodities  intended  for 
trade  with  them,  viz.  blankets,  muskets,  powder, 
and  balls. 

On  the  7th  of  May  we  put  to  sea,  with  pleas- 
ant weather  and  a  moderate  breeze  from  the 
west,  and  directed  our  course  to  the  northward. 
On  the  8th,  the  wind  increased  to  a  gale,  and 
veered  to  the  south,  which  brought  thick  fog 
and  rain.  On  the  9th  it  became  clear,  and  we 
obtained  a  good  view  of  the  land,  and  discovered 
that  we  were  near  the  entrance  of  the  sound, 
about  mid-channel,  with  Mount  Edgecombe  bear- 
ing northwest,  ten  miles  distant.  We  stood  in 
under  a  press  of  sail,  and  at  about  eleven  came 
to  anchor  in  Magee's  Harbor,  as  it  was  called,  on 
the  west  side  of  the  sound.  We  found  erected 
on  the  shore  a  guide-post,  pointing  out  the  di- 
rection of  the  village,  and  the  date  of  its  estab- 
lishment. We  were  soon  visited  by  several  bai- 
darkas*  with  Kodiak  Indians,  from  whom  we 
endeavored  to  obtain  information.  The  only 
word  they  used,  which  we  could  understand,  was 

*  Leather  canoes.  They  consist  of  a  skeleton  of  wood,  over 
which  is  stretched  a  covering  made  of  the  skins  of  sea-lions.  They 
are  long  and  narrow,  and  hold  from  one  to  three  persons.  Each 
person  sits  in  a  round  hole  just  fitted  to  the  size  of  the  body. 


21 


Baranoff,  which  we  knew  to  be  the  name  of  the 
governor  or  superintendent  of  the  settlement. 
As  soon  as  the  news  of  our  arrival  in  the  sound 
reached  there,  a  pilot  was  despatched  to  our  as- 
sistance, and,  the  wind  being  favorable,  he  brought 
us  round  to  the  village,  and  we  anchored  on  the 
10th  of  May  abreast  of  the  fort. 

Mr.  Abraham  Jones,  an  American  in  the  Kus- 
sian  service,  immediately  came  on  board,  with  the 
Governor's  compliments,  and  kind  offers  of  pro- 
tection, and  any  aid  we  might  need  which  it 
was  in  his  power  to  give.  Accompanied  by  Mr. 
Moorfield,  I  accepted  an  invitation  to  go  on  shore 
and  have  an  interview  with  him.  Mr.  Jones  offi- 
ciated as  interpreter.  I  was  introduced  by  him 
to  his  Excellency,  and  received  with  every  mark 
of  friendship  and  hospitality.  After  exchanging 
the  usual  compliments,  we  were  ushered  into  an 
apartment  where  we  found  a  table  spread  with 
all  the  luxuries  the  place  afforded.  While  we 
regaled  ourselves  with  the  sumptuous  fare,  the 
conversation  turned  to  the  subject  of  my  cargo. 
The  Governor  appeared  willing  and  desirous  to 
exchange  furs  on  fair  terms  for  such  articles 
as  they  needed.  We  returned  on  board  in  the 
evening,  well  pleased  with  our  reception,  I  might 
say  agreeably  disappointed,  as  I  had  been  led  to 


22 


believe  from  various  reports  that  we  should  find 
the  Eussians  little  advanced  from  the  savage 
state. 

As  the  success  of  my  voyage  depended  on  the 
utmost  possible  despatch,  no  time  was  lost  in 
establishing  a  rate  of  exchange  with  our  new 
friends  ;  which  being  adjusted  to  our  mutual 
advantage,  I  was  enabled  to  disencumber  the 
vessel  of  a  large  portion  of  the  bulkiest  part 
of  my  cargo,  —  such  as  has  been  mentioned  on 
a  preceding  page. 

From  the  kind  treatment  received  from  the 
Governor,  I  was  induced  to  form  a  very  favorable 
opinion  of  him.  He  was  sixty-five  years  of  age, 
and  had  spent  the  last  eighteen  years  of  his  life 
at  different  stations  on  the  coast,  in  the  capacity 
of  agent  and  officer  of  the  Eussian  American 
Company,  —  excluded,  as  it  were,  from  all  civ- 
ilized society,  except  that  of  a  few  of  his  fellow- 
adventurers.  He  possessed  a  strong  mind,  easy 
manners  and  deportment,  and  was  apparently 
well  fitted  for  the  place  he  filled.  He  com- 
manded the  greatest  respect  from  the  Indians, 
who  regarded  him  with  mingled  feelings  of  love 
and  fear. 

Owing  to  frequent  storms  of  rain,  which  un- 
avoidably retarded  the  progress  of  our  business, 


23 


my  stay  at  this  place  was  prolonged  until  the 
27th  of  May.  With  pleasant  weather  and  a 
moderate  breeze  we  then  weighed  anchor,  and 
sailed  from  Norfolk  Sound.  We  proceeded  up 
Chatham  Straits  as  high  as  Lynn  Canal,  in  lat. 
59°  N.,  thence  southward  to  Newettee  in  lat.  51° 
N.,  touching  at  as  many  of  the  intermediate  har- 
bors as  we  found  it  practicable,  and  making  some 
trade.  We  arrived  at  Newettee  on  the  28th  of 
June,  at  the  same  time  with  the  brig  Lydia  and 
the  ships  Vancouver  and  Athawalpa.  The  latter 
had  been  attacked  by  the  Indians,  who  killed 
Capt.  Porter  and  all  the  officers,  and  wounded 
many  of  the  sailors.  She  had  fallen  in  with  the 
other  ship  and  brig,  belonging  to  the  same  own- 
ers, and  had  proceeded  to  this  place  for  assistance. 
Here  we  found  the  Pearl  and  the  Mary. 

I  shall  not  attempt  a  detail  of  the  occurrences, 
or  give  a  description  of  the  harbors  and  inlets 
we  visited  in  our  voyage  from  Norfolk  Sound. 
While  here  we  rendered  all  the  assistance  in  our 
power  in  manning  and  equipping  the  Athawalpa 
for  Canton,  and  then,  on  the  llth  of  July,  again 
left  Newettee  and  sailed  northward  for  Chatham 
Straits.  Touching  at  a  number  of  places  on  our 
passage,  on  the  27th  we  entered  the  mouth  of 
the  straits,  and  proceeded  up  as  far  as  Point  Ee- 


treat  in  lat.  58°  N.  Here  the  Indians  were  very 
numerous,  and  appeared  to  have  a  great  number 
of  skins  for  sale,  but  declined  trading,  unless  we 
brought  the  ship  to  anchor,  which  was  unneces- 
sary, as  the  wind  was  light  and  the  sea  smooth. 
There  was  nothing  to  interrupt  a  traffic  if  they 
really  felt  willing  to  open  one ;  but,  in  order  to 
comply  with  their  wishes  as  far  as  possible,  I 
made  several  attempts  to  get  an  anchorage,  and 
was  only  prevented  by  the  depth  of  the  water. 
Still  the  Indians  kept  round  us  in  great  numbers, 
there  being  at  least  thirty  or  forty  canoes  of 
them.  At  the  same  time  we  perceived  that  they 
were  all  armed,  and  this,  with  their  obstinacy, 
gave  us  strong  suspicions  that  they  were  bent  on 
mischief  more  than  commerce.  As  it  was  nearly 
sunset,  and  there  was  no  prospect  of  bringing 
them  to  terms,  I  concluded  to  make  the  best  of 
my  way  down  the  straits.  The  wind  was  light, 
and  the  tide  against  us.  The  Indians,  seeing 
plainly  that  we  could  make  but  little  progress 
in  the  course  of  the  night,  went  on  shore,  and 
returned  at  daylight.  They  came  with  the  ap- 
parent determination  to  board  us ;  but  in  their 
absence  we  had  made  ample  preparations  to 
meet  in  a  hostile  as  well  as  a  friendly  manner. 
Seeing  the  impossibility  of  obtaining  access  to 


25 


the  ship  by  force,  they  changed  their  tactics,  and 
were  inclined  to  trade  with  us  in  a  peaceable 
way.  We  therefore  admitted  one  of  the  chiefs 
at  the  gangway,  and  through  him  commenced 
a  brisk  traffic,  which  continued  until  we  had 
bought  their  whole  stock  of  furs.  They  then 
left  us  to  continue  our  course  down  the  straits 
without  molestation. 

On  the  5th  of  August  we  came  to  anchor  in 
an  extensive  harbor,  situated  near  the  entrance 
of  Chatham  Straits,  between  Points  Sullivan  and 
Ellis.  Here  we  were  detained  several  days  by 
calms  and  light  westerly  winds,  which  blew  di- 
rectly into  the  harbor,  while  the  entrance  was 
so  narrow  that  we  found  it  impossible  to  beat 
out.  On  the  10th  we  got  under  weigh,  with 
the  boats  ahead  to  tow;  but  the  ebb  tide  began 
to  run  very  strong,  and  drift  the  ship  towards 
a  small  island  lying  midway  in  the  channel. 
Notwithstanding  our  utmost  efforts  to  avoid  it 
by  the  use  of  oars  and  letting  go  an  anchor, 
in  the  darkness  which  had  come  on  we  had 
approached  nearer  the  shore  than  we  supposed, 
and  finally  the  keel  struck  upon  the  rocks. 
The  stream  anchor  was  carried  out  with  all 
possible  despatch  in  order  to  heave  the  vessel 
off,  but  in  vain.  The  falling  tide  had  left  her 


26 


too  fast.  The  only  alternative  left  was  to  secure 
her  in  the  best  manner  possible  before  she  be- 
gan to  keel  over,  and  to  prepare  ourselves  for 
defence  in  case  of  an  attack  from  the  savages. 
Having  furled  all  the  sails,  sent  down  the  top- 
gallant yards  and  masts,  and  lashed  our  heavy 
guns  amidship,  we  equipped  our  three  boats 
with  arms,  ammunition,  and  provision,  lest  the 
ship  should  bilge,  which  we  had  great  reason 
to  apprehend,  as  we  had  still  on  board  about 
two  thirds  of  our  cargo.  But  as  the  tide  left 
her  we  found  that  she  did  not  lie  so  much  on 
her  beam-ends  as  we  had  anticipated,  but  was 
supported  by  three  sharp  rocks,  one  about  mid- 
ships, and  the  other  two  abreast  the  fore  and 
mizzen  chains ;  her  keel  had  also  taken  the  rocks 
in  several  places. 

At  sunrise  the  Indians  began  to  assemble  about 
us.  At  first  they  kept  aloof,  and  seemed  to  en- 
tertain some  suspicions  as  to  our  movements; 
but  after  going  round  the  ship  and  examining 
her  situation  very  carefully,  we  prevailed  upon 
some  of  them  to  come  alongside.  We  gave 
them  to  understand  that  we  had  hauled  on 
shore  to  mend  the  copper ;  and  to  convince  them, 
I  employed  a  gang  of  hands  under  the  ship's 
bottom  for  that  purpose.  At  9  A.  M.  we  had 


27 


low  water,  and  as  the  perpendicular  rise  and 
fall  of  the  tide  was  about  fifteen  feet,  we  could 
now  walk  all  round  the  vessel,  and  under  the 
keel  in  some  places.  In  the  mean  time  some 
of  the  officers  were  employed  in  trading  with 
the  Indians  for  their  furs ;  and  to  make  our- 
selves secure  in  case  they  had  any  hostile  in- 
tentions, we  succeeded  in  enticing  one  of  the 
chiefs  on  board,  whom  we  detained  as  a  host- 
age. Thus  relieved  in  a  measure  from  any  ap- 
prehension of  an  attack  from  the  natives,  and 
haying  done  everything  in  our  power  to  ease 
the  ship,  we  lost  no  time  in  caulking  and  stop- 
ping in  the  best  possible  manner  such  places 
as  had  been  strained  open  by  her  ponderous 
weight  upon  the  rocks.  The  two  seams  below 
the  plank-sheer  were  nearly  an  inch  wide,  as 
likewise  every  butt  from  the  fore  to  the  mizzen- 
mast.  To  clear  the  bilge  of  the  ship  we  rigged  one 
of  our  pumps  in  the  main  hatchway,  and  drew 
out  a  considerable  quantity  of  molasses  and 
water.  After  some  brisk  work,  we  had  the 
satisfaction  of  finding  that  the  vessel  righted 
with  the  flowing  tide,  and  at  high  water,  to  our 
great  joy,  she  floated.  When  we  hauled  into 
the  stream  again,  we  were  happy  to  find  that 
she  did  not  leak  so  badly  as  we  had  reason  to 


28 


anticipate.  The  only  perceptible  injury  was  on 
the  side  which  laid  on  the  rocks,  and  that  was 
bent  or  hogged  up,  as  the  phrase  is,  about  half 
a  foot.  We  now  liberated  our  hostage,  after 
making  him  a  very  liberal  present  for  his  de- 
tention. 

While  we  were  aground,  we  had  a  favorable 
opportunity  to  examine  the  copper  on  the  ship's 
bottom,  which  proved  to  be  in  a  very  shattered 
condition ;  and  as  we  had  reason  to  apprehend 
more  damage  than  was  visible,  I  deemed  it  ad- 
visable to  proceed  at  once  to  the  Russian  settle- 
ment at  Norfolk  Sound,  where,  under  protection 
from  the  Indians,  we  might  discharge  our  cargo, 
and  make  repairs  in  peace.  Accordingly,  on  the 
12th  of  August  we  put  to  sea,  and  made  the  best 
of  our  way  for  that  place.  On  our  route  we  fell  in 
again  with  the  Mary,  and,  in  company  with  her, 
arrived  on  the  14th,  and  anchored  abreast  the  vil- 
lage. I  was  again  received  by  Governor  Bara- 
noff  with  that  kind  and  obliging  hospitality  which 
made  him  loved  and  respected  by  every  visitor. 

No  time  was  lost  in  preparing  to  lay  the  Juno 
on  shore,  in  order  to  ascertain  the  extent  of  the 
damage.  In  this  I  was  greatly  facilitated  by  the 
Governor,  who  allowed  me  to  occupy  an  old  hulk, 
into  which  I  shifted  my  cargo,  with  the  exception 


29 


of  the  furs.  We  had  collected  about  a  thousand 
sea-otter  skins,  and  these  I  sent  to  Canton  by  the 
Mary,  which  sailed  on  the  20th.  Notwithstanding 
our  utmost  exertions,  our  preparations  were  not 
completed  until  the  1st  of  September,  and  then, 
to  my  great  surprise  and  regret,  I  found  twenty 
of  the  floor  timbers  broken,  and  the  copper  in  a 
very  ragged  condition.  I  was,  however,  gratified 
to  find  the  planks  all  sound  and  good  except  in 
one  place,  where  the  carpenter  cut  out  a  large 
fragment  of  the  rock,  which  had  penetrated  the 
bottom,  and  adhered  so  closely  as  to  prevent  the 
admission  of  water.  By  the  6th  of  September 
we  had  completed  such  repairs  as  were  practica- 
ble and  hauled  into  the  stream,  knowing  no  other 
alternative  than  to  make  the  best  of  our  crippled 
ship,  and  endeavor  to  prosecute  the  remainder  of 
our  voyage  with  more  caution. 

Having  again  adjusted  the  rigging,  replenished 
our  stores  of  wood  and  water,  and  put  everything 
in  the  best  possible  trim  for  sea,  I  submitted  to 
Governor  Baranoff  a  project  of  an  expedition  to 
the  southern  coast  of  New  Albion  and  California, 
which  he  readily  accepted.  My  idea  was  to  take 
on  board  fifty  or  sixty  Kodiak  Indians,  with  their 
canoes,  for  the  purpose  of  catching  sea-otter, 
those  animals  being  very  numerous  on  that  coast. 


30 


Everything  in  this  new  plan  being  agreed  upon 
and  settled,  we  were  to  wait  until  the  1st  of 
October  for  the  Indians,  who  were  out  on  a  hunt- 
ing expedition,  under  the  protection  of  two  small 
vessels,  and  expected  to  return  by  the  last  of  the 
month. 

While  we  were  waiting,  the  Russian  brig  Maria 
arrived  at  the  settlement.  She  was  under  the 
command  of  Andrew  W.  Maschin,  a  lieutenant  in 
the  navy,  and  had  on  board  as  passenger  Nicholas 
Resanoff,  a  nobleman,  who,  after  an  unsuccessful 
embassy  to  Japan,  returned  to  Kamtchatka  en 
route  to  the  posts  on  the  Northwest  Coast  be- 
longing to  the  Russian  American  Company,  in 
which  he  was  himself  a  large  proprietor.  With 
him  came  also  two  other  lieutenants  in  the  Rus- 
sian navy,  Nicholas  Schwostoff  and  John  Davidoff, 
Doctor  Geo.  Langsdorff,  and  two  ship-carpenters, 
Messrs.  Koriikin  and  Popoff,  who  were  to  build 
a  ship  at  this  place.  To  all  these  new-comers  I 
was  formally  introduced  by  my  friend  the  Gov- 
ernor, and  received  the  assurances  of  his  Ex- 
cellency, Baron  von  Resanoff,  that  he  would 
facilitate,  in  every  way  in  his  power,  the  execu- 
tion of  my  California  scheme.  Several  days  after 
this  arrival  were  passed  in  festivity  and  mirth, 
and  business  was  entirely  suspended.  The  ap- 


31 


pearance  of  so  distinguished  a  personage,  whose 
authority  was  for  a  time  to  supersede  even  that 
of  the  Governor,  was  an  event  of  great  moment. 
In  conversation  with  Dr.  Langsdorff  on  the 
inconvenience  of  building  and  equipping  a  large 
vessel  where  the  necessary  materials  were  so 
difficult  to  procure,  I  observed  to  him,  jocosely, 
that  I  would  sell  them  my  ship,  which  would 
obviate  the  necessity  of  building.  The  conver- 
sation being  communicated  to  his  Excellency, 
he  wished  to  know  whether  I  would  really  sell 
my  ship,  and  if  so,  what  would  be  the  price. 
This  was  a  subject  on  which  I  had  not  re- 
flected, and  which  required  some  deliberation 
on  several  accounts.  Having  about  two  thirds 
of  my  cargo  on  board,  it  was  necessary  to  as- 
certain of  what  it  consisted  to  estimate  its 
value,  being  well  aware  that  I  could  not  dis- 
pose of  my  vessel  by  itself  alone.  How  my 
officers  and  crew  were  to  leave  the  coast  was 
another  serious  difficulty.  But  while  I  was  de- 
liberating on  the  expediency  of  the  measure, 
the  two  small  vessels,  the  Yermerk  and  Russis- 
loff,  which  I  mentioned  above,  returned  from 
the  hunting  expedition.  The  former,  a  craft  of 
forty  tons,  appeared  to  be  suitable  for  my  pur- 
pose, and  I  therefore  availed  myself  of  the 


32 


opportunity,  and  offered  my  ship,  and  the  re- 
mainder of  my  cargo,  for  the  sum  of  $  68,000, 
payable  in  the  following  manner,  viz. :  bills  of 
exchange  on  the  Directors  of  the  Eussian  Ameri- 
can Company  at  St.  Petersburg  for  the  sum  of 
$  54,638 ;  572  sea-otter  skins  for  the  sum  of 
$  13,062 ;  and  $  300  in  cash ;  together  with  the 
fore-named  vessel,  the  Yermerk,  completely  rigged, 
two  suits  of  sails,  four  carriage  guns,  thirty 
muskets,  with  ammunition  for  the  same,  and  pro- 
visions for  my  crew  for  one  hundred  days.  This 
offer  was  accepted,  and  the  Juno  passed  into 
the  hands  of  the  Russian  American  Company. 
On  the  5th  of  October,  I  delivered  her  up,  un- 
der a  salute  from  the  fort  and  the  ship,  when 
I  hoisted  the  stars  and  stripes  on  the  Yermerk, 
which  had  become  my  property. 

Having  consummated  our  bargain  by  deliver- 
ing up  our  ship,  and  taking  possession  of  our 
little  craft,  we  set  to  work  immediately  to  put 
her  into  a  condition  to  transport  ourselves  and 
the  sea-otter  skins  to  Canton.  This  work  was 
completed  by  the  15th;  and  while  we  were 
waiting  for  favorable  weather  to  put  to  sea, 
his  Excellency  suggested  to  me  the  advisability 
of  despatching  the  Yermerk  for  Canton,  and 
remaining  myself  at  the  settlement  until  spring, 


33 


and  then  embarking  with  himself  and  suite  for 
Ochotsk,  and  proceeding  to  St.  Petersburg  by 
land.  The  kind  and  courteous  manner  in  which 
this  proposition  was  made  to  me  was  too  flat- 
tering to  be  received  with  indifference.  After 
duly  considering  the  subject,  having  in  view 
the  probable  advantage  of  presenting  my  bills 
of  exchange  in  person  the  next  winter,  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  advice  of  my  friends,  I  con- 
cluded to  avail  myself  of  his  Excellency's  gen- 
erous offer.  I  therefore  gave  the  command  of 
the ;  Yermerk  to  my  first  officer,  Mr.  George 
W.  Stetson,  and  the  superintendence  of  the  busi- 
ness to  Mr.  James  Moorfield.  Storms  and  ad- 
verse winds  prevented  them  from  sailing  until 
the  27th,  when,  with  a  favorable  breeze,  they 
took  their  departure  from  Norfolk  Sound,  with 
our  most  fervent  prayers  for  their  welfare  and 
safe  arrival  at  Canton. 

After  taking  a  long  parting  look  at  the  little 
vessel  fading  in  the  horizon,  I  returned  to  the 
village,  full  of  melancholy  forebodings  of  a  te- 
dious and  dreary  winter  in  that  rude  and  inhos- 
pitable region.  But  it  was  of  no  use  to  repine ; 
the  business  was  settled,  and  I  concluded  I 
would  take  things  as  they  came,  and  make  the 
best  of  them.  I  had  retained  in  my  service,  as 

5 


34 


valet,  Edward  D.  Parker,  one  of  my  ordinary 
sailors,  but  a  very  useful  man  of  all  work.  A 
barber  by  trade,  he  was  also  a  tolerably  good 
tailor,  and  performer  on  the  violin  and  clarinet. 
This  latter  accomplishment  I  thought  might  be 
useful  in  dispelling  the  blues,  if  we  should  at 
any  time  be  troubled  with  that  complaint.  An 
apartment  was  assigned  me  by  the  Governor, 
adjoining  the  room  of  Dr.  Langsdorff,  to  which 
I  removed  my  goods  and  chattels.  I  had  a 
sleeping  bunk  fitted  up  in  one  corner,  and  made 
everything  as  comfortable  as  possible  for  a  long 
siege.  Having  thus  taken  up  my  residence 
among  the  Russians,  I  will  pause  to  make  some 
explanations  connected  with  my  narrative. 


III. 

NICHOLAS  RESANOFF  AND  THE  JAPAN  EXPEDITION.  —  THE  HISTORY  OF 
THE  EUSSIAN  SETTLEMENT  AT  NORFOLK  SOUND  AND  THE  FOUNDING 
OF  NEW  ARCHANGEL.  —  THE  CHINESE  PROJECT.  —  DR.  LANGSDORFF 
AND  OTHER  NEW  FRIENDS.  —  VlSIT  TO  THE  INDIANS  DRIVEN  BY  THE 
RUSSIANS  FROM  ARCHANGEL. 

IN  September,  1803,  an  expedition  sailed  from 
Cronstadt,  Russia,  for  the  Pacific  Ocean,  consist- 
ing of  the  two  ships  Nadeschda  and  Neva,  the 
former  commanded  by  Capt.  Krusenstern,  and 
the  latter  by  Capt.  Lisiansky,  both  experienced 
officers  of  the  Imperial  navy.  This  was  the  first 
adventure  the  Russians  ever  attempted  in  the 
Southern  Ocean,  and  was  prompted  by  the  ex- 
tension of  the  trade  of  the  Russian  American  Fur 
Company.  It  had  the  double  purpose  of  sup- 
plying the  settlements  on  the  Northwest  Coast, 
and  negotiating  a  commercial  treaty  with  Japan, 
which,  being  near  the  settlements,  would  be  a 
convenient  place  to  obtain  provisions  and  dispose 
of  commodities.  Encouragement  had  been  given 
by  a  letter  received  many  years  previous  from 
the  Japanese,  granting  permission  to  come  to 


36 


the  port  of  Nangasaki ;  on  the  strength  of  this 
letter,  and  in  view  of  the  advantages  and  facilities 
for  intercourse,  it  was  thought  expedient  by  the 
Imperial  government  to  send  an  embassy  to  this 
strange  people.  Accordingly,  Nicholas  Besanoff, 
a  nobleman  and  Chamberlain  to  his  Majesty,  the 
Emperor  of  all  the  Kussias,  was  appointed,  and 
embarked  in  the  Nadeschda,  with  powers  plen- 
ipotentiary to  negotiate  with  the  Court  of  Jedo. 
This  part  of  the  undertaking,  as  is  well  known, 
proved  a  failure.  After  remaining  at  Nangasaki 
six  months,  subject  a  part  of  the  time  to  a  partial 
imprisonment,  and  throughout  to  absurd  formal- 
ities and  ridiculous  vexations,  he  despaired  of 
bringing  about  a  favorable  result,  and  was  com- 
pelled to  depart  for  Kamtchatka,  without  even 
obtaining  an  interview  with  the  Emperor,  and, 
in  fact,  accomplishing  nothing. 

Baron  von  Resanoff  was  a  person  of  rank  and 
distinction,  possessed  of  many  amiable  qualities, 
and  highly  esteemed  by  the  Emperor  Alexander. 
He  was  kind  and  affable  to  all  around  him, 
and  always  ready  to  hear  complaints,  and  afford 
every  redress  in  his  power  for  grievances.  He 
married  the  daughter  of  the  famous  Schelikoff, 
who  was  the  pioneer  in  the  Russian  discoveries 
and  settlements  on  the  Northwest  Coast.  This 


37 


circumstance  caused  him  to  be  largely  interested 
in  the  Fur  Company.  His  mission  to  Japan  hav- 
ing terminated  unfavorably,  his  intention  then  was 
to  visit  and  inspect  all  the  stations  of  the  Com- 
pany on  the  coast.  He  left  the  Nadeschda  there- 
fore at  Kamtchatka,  and  embarked  on  board  the 
brig  Maria.  After  touching  at  various  Eussian 
establishments,  he  finally  arrived  at  Norfolk 
Sound.  The  Neva,  Captain  Lisiansky,  pursued 
its  course  directly  to  the  island  of  Kodiak,  and 
thence  to  Norfolk  Sound,  where  it  arrived  Au- 
gust 20, 1804,  and  joined,  by  previous  agreement, 
a  small  squadron  of  three  vessels  under  the  com- 
mand of  Governor  Baranoff. 

The  Eussians  had  formerly  a  settlement  on  the 
Sound,  situated  several  miles  from  their  present 
location,  called  Archangel,  which  was  destroyed 
by  the  Indians,  and  all  the  inhabitants  massa- 
cred. The  Indians  then  established  themselves 
on  the  spot,  and  erected  strong  fortifications. 
The  object  of  assembling  the  vessels  was  to  chas- 
tise and  expel  them,  and  this  was  accomplished 
after  a  siege  of  four  days.  The  Eussians  then 
selected  an  elevated  and  commanding  situation 
in  the  immediate  vicinity.  It  was  a  singular 
round  piece  of  land  with  a  flat  top,  standing  out 
in  the  sea,  and  bearing  the  appearance  of  a  work 


38 


of  human  hands.  The  only  connection  with  the 
shore  was  by  a  narrow  isthmus.  Here  they  put 
up  several  buildings,  mounted  a  considerable 
battery  of  heavy  guns,  and  gave  the  place  the 
name  of  New  Archangel. 

The  Neva  then  returned  to  Kodiak,  where  she 
wintered,  and  in  the  fall  of  1805  proceeded  to 
Canton  and  rejoined  the  Nadeschda,  which  had 
previously  sailed  thither.  The  aim  in  this  move- 
ment was  to  accomplish  a  third  project  of  the 
Eussian  American  Company,  which,  like  the  Japan 
scheme,  was  unsuccessful.  They  desired  to  obtain 
permission  from  the  Chinese  government  to  con- 
tinue their  intercourse  with  the  port  of  Canton, 
and  so  enable  their  ships  to  return  by  sea  from 
the  settlements  to  Kussia,  with  the  proceeds  of 
their  furs.  But  the  Chinese  objected,  and  insist- 
ed on  their  confining  themselves  to  their  inland 
traffic  at  the  north.  Thus  commerce  for  the 
future  with  Canton  was  interdicted.  I  relate 
these  events  because  they  took  place  but  a  short 
time  previous  to  my  sojourn  at  Norfolk  Sound, 
and  account  for  the  presence  there  of  several 
persons  of  distinction. 

George  von  Langsdorff,  a  native  of  Frankfort, 
Germany,  was  by  profession  a  doctor  of  medi- 
cine and  surgery,  and  by  taste  a  naturalist.  He 


39 


was  a  volunteer  on  the  Kussian  American  ex- 
pedition, and  was  in  pursuit  of  science.  On  his 
arrival  in  Kamtchatka  a  second  time,  he  was  in- 
vited by  Baron  von  Kesanoff  to  accompany  him 
to  the  Northwest  Coast  of  America,  as  his  phy- 
sician. He  was  particularly  moved  to  accept  the 
invitation  by  the  opportunity  which  was  thus 
offered  for  the  collection  of  specimens  of  natural 
history.  The  Doctor,  unlike  Baron  von  Kesanoff, 
spoke  the  English  language  fluently.  As  I  lived 
under  the  same  roof  with  him,  we  became  almost 
inseparable,  participating  both  in  each  others' 
pleasures  and  troubles.  Lieutenants  Schwostoff, 
Davidoff,  and  Maschin  were  highly  accomplished 
and  meritorious  officers,  as  were  likewise  the 
two  ship-builders,  Messrs.  Popoff  and  Koriikin. 
They  all  seemed  to  vie  in  attention  and  kind- 
ness to  me  as  their  guest,  and  by  general  in- 
vitation I  dined  with  these  gentlemen  at  the 
Governor's  table. 

The  stock  of  provisions  at  the  settlement  had 
been  very  small  and  of  the  poorest  kind,  and 
the  increase  of  the  population  by  the  arrival 
of  the  Ambassador  and  his  suite  made  the  sub- 
ject of  supplies  for  the  coming  winter  a  matter 
for  sober  consideration ;  but  by  the  purchase 
of  the  Juno  they  were  relieved  from  all  serious 


40 


anxiety  on  that  score,  as  a  great  part  of  her 
cargo  consisted  of  good  wholesome  provisions, 
such  as  beef,  pork,  flour,  bread,  rice,  sugar,  mo- 
lasses, rum,  and  tobacco.  In  fact,  the  desire  to 
obtain  these  stores  had  great  weight  in  their 
negotiations  with  me.  There  was  still,  how- 
ever, some  deficiency  in  inferior  kinds  of  food, 
and  a  small  vessel  had  been  despatched  some 
time  previously  to  Kodiak.  It  was  so  late  in 
the  season  she  did  not  return.  Now  they  were 
not  afraid  of  winter  storms,  for  they  had  the 
Juno  to  send  on  the  errand.  She  sailed,  under 
the  command  of  Lieutenants  Schwostoif  and 
Davidoff,  on  the  27th  of  October. 

In  the  mean  while  the  whole  village,  comprising 
a  population  of  150  Kussians,  and  perhaps  250 
Aleutians,  was  actively  engaged  in  preparing  to 
meet  the  rigors  of  the  approaching  season.  They 
built  log-houses,  work-shops,  and  barracks.  My 
friend  Langsdorff  was  all  the  time  ranging  the 
woods  and  the  shores  with  his  fowling-piece,  in 
quest  of  wild  game  for  specimens,  with  which, 
after  they  had  been  skinned  for  science'  sake,  my 
man  Parker  made  stews  of  various  descriptions. 
Being  merely  a  sojourner  at  the  settlement,  I 
occupied  myself  in  watching  the  labors  of  others, 
getting  acquainted  with  the  different  characters 


41 


and  localities  of  the  place,  and  learning  the  use 
and  management  of  baidarkas. 

By  the  beginning  of  November  the  novelty  of 
our  situation  had  worn  off;  the  circumscribed 
range  of  our  wanderings  from  the  village  became 
monotonous  and  tiresome,  and,  as  a  number  of 
our  associates  had  departed  for  Kodiak,  we  began 
to  look  round  for  some  new  object  of  interest. 
The  Doctor  had  frequently  expressed  a  desire  to 
become  more  acquainted  with  the  Sitcha  Indians, 
and  resolved  on  making  them  a  visit  at  their 
village,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  island,  if  I 
would  accompany  him,  to  which  I  readily  agreed. 
As  these  were  the  very  Indians  who  had  recently 
been  so  roughly  handled  by  the  Eussians,  it  was 
considered  by  the  Governor  and  other  friends  to 
be  a  rather  perilous  adventure ;  but  we  relied  a 
good  deal  on  our  not  being  Kussians,  and  upon 
the  fact  that  I  had  been  among  them  during  the 
previous  summer  as  a  trader  from  a  people  with 
whom  they  were  on  friendly  terms.  Perceiving 
that  we  were  bent  on  going,  the  Governor  gave 
his  consent,  and  furnished  us  with  baidarkas, 
Kodiak  Indians,  and  an  Indian  woman  as  an  in- 
terpreter. The  latter  was  a  daughter  of  one 
of  the  principal  chiefs  of  the  tribe  we  were  to 
visit.  She  had  lived  with  the  Eussians  five  or 


42 


six  years,  and  with  her  as  a  companion  we  had 
little  fear  of  any  other  than  a  friendly  reception. 

We  soon  completed  the  preparations  for  our 
departure.  We  took  guns,  pistols,  powder,  and 
shot,  for  shooting  as  well  as  for  safety ;  rice,  tea, 
sugar,  biscuit,  dried  fish,  and  brandy,  for  our  food. 
Beside  some  kitchen  utensils  for  dressing  these 
provisions  and  a  small  tent  to  sleep  in,  we  were 
provided  with  several  ells  of  linen  and  woollen 
cloth,  glass  beads,  needles,  tobacco,  large  fishing- 
hooks,  looking-glasses,  and  various  similar  trifles 
for  presents  to  the  Indians.  Langsdorff,  the  in- 
terpreter, and  myself  each  occupied  a  baidarka, 
and  had  two  natives  each  to  row. 

We  were  three  days  in  reaching  the  village, 
but  beyond  a  few  Indians,  with  whom  we  en- 
camped at  night,  we  saw  nothing  of  interest. 
By  nightfall  of  the  third  day  we  had  nearly 
reached  the  place  of  our  destination ;  but  owing 
to  a  strong  wind  and  tide,  which  were  directly 
against  us,  we  had  the  mortification  of  seeing 
the  sun  go  down  before  the  whole  distance  was 
accomplished.  We  were  now  in  rather  an  un- 
pleasant situation ;  to  return  was  impossible, 
and  to  land  might  have  excited  suspicion,  for 
the  fire  which  was  necessary  as  a  protection 
from  the  cold  must  have  betrayed  us.  We 


determined  at  last  to  make  our  way  to  the 
settlement,  notwithstanding  we  should  reach  it 
in  utter  darkness.  Scarcely  was  this  resolution 
taken,  when  we  were  observed  from  the  land, 
and  hailed  in  a  loud  voice,  but  neither  our  in- 
terpreter nor  our  Kodiak  oarsmen  would  reply. 
This  sorely  provoked  Langsdorff  and  myself, 
and  we  were  on  the  point  of  expressing  our 
anger  warmly,  when  a  great  commotion  arose 
on  shore.  Suddenly,  some  hundred  naked  In- 
dians, armed  with  muskets,  and  holding  fire- 
brands in  their  hands,  thronged  to  the  water's 
edge.  No  sooner  had  we  made  known  who 
we  were,  and  approached  the  shore,  than  we 
were  surrounded  in  a  tumultuous  manner  by 
the  Kaluschians,  who  dragged  us  towards  their 
fortress,  seizing  upon  our  effects  at  the  same 
time,  whether  to  rob  us  of  them  or  to  restore 
them  we  were  then  ignorant.  I  expected 
nothing  but  an  immediate  and  violent  death. 
The  scene  certainly  was  one  to  inspire  terror; 
the  glare  of  the  torches,  the  gesticulations  of 
the  savages,  the  brandishing  of  the  weapons, 
the  rough  handling  we  received,  were  not  cal- 
culated to  inspire  confidence  in  men  whom 
from  the  outset  we  had  distrusted.  But  hap- 
pily our  fears  were  groundless,  and  the  dem- 


44 


onstrations  of  the  natives,  as  we  afterwards 
learned,  were  well  intended  offices  of  friendship. 

We  were  hurried  over  a  rather  fatiguing 
road  to  the  top  of  a  high  rock,  on  which  stood 
the  fortress,  and  were  immediately  introduced 
into  the  very  spacious  habitation  of  the  chief 
Dlchaetin,  the  father  of  our  interpreter.  He 
assigned  us  a  place  directly  opposite  the  en- 
trance, where  we  spread  a  carpet,  and,  by  the 
light  of  a  very  large  fire  on  a  raised  hearth 
in  the  centre  of  the  room,  were  subjected  to 
the  gaze  of  some  hundreds  of  the  natives. 
Shortly  after,  to  our  great  astonishment,  our 
packages  were  brought  to  us  from  our  baidar- 
kas,  not  the  smallest  trifle  being  withheld,  al- 
though there  were  undoubtedly  many  articles 
among  them  which  the  bearers  must  have  cov- 
eted, and  under  the  cover  of  the  night  might 
have  easily  concealed.  Even  my  musket,  pis- 
tols, and  powder-horn,  which  in  my  hurry  I 
had  left  behind,  were  delivered  to  me  without 
the  slightest  injury. 

We  had  scarcely  refreshed  ourselves  with  a 
dish  of  tea  and  a  glass  of  punch,  when  we 
were  invited  by  the  eldest  and  most  distin- 
guished of  the  chiefs,  the  commandant  of  the 
fortress,  to  come  and  visit  him.  He  received 


45 


us  with  much  kindness,  and  presented  me  with 
a  sea-otter's  skin,  and  Dr.  Langsdorff  with  a 
beautiful  sea-otter's  tail.  Much  fatigued,  and 
in  need  of  rest,  we  returned  to  the  habitation 
of  our  host ;  but  we  found  ourselves  in  too 
exciting  a  scene  to  permit  of  sleep.  While 
eating  a  very  good  dish  of  fish  and  rice  pre- 
pared by  him,  we  were  entertained  with  a  lively 
and  pleasing  melody,  sung  by  a  number  of 
men  seated  round  the  fire,  which  had  been  piled 
up  to  a  great  height.  Though  the  night  was 
cold  and  windy,  the  savages  went  barefoot  to 
the  neighboring  forest,  and  brought  home  large 
blocks  of  wood  upon  their  naked  shoulders, 
and  heaped  them  on  the  hearth.  It  was  in- 
comprehensible how  the  roof,  covered  as  it  was 
merely  with  bark,  was  not  entirely  consumed. 
Once  it  did  take  fire ;  but  a  boy  ran  like  a 
mouse  up  the  side  of  the  wall,  and  extin- 
guished it.  The  sparks  flew  out  of  the  open- 
ing at  the  top,  and  the  flames  roared  as  in  a 
blacksmith's  forge;  and  we  could  not  close  our 
eyes  till  their  fierceness  had  in  a  measure  sub- 
sided, and  the  danger  was  less  imminent,  though 
the  fire  was  very  hot  through  the  whole  night. 
On  the  morning  of  the  next  day  we  carried  to 
the  commandant  from  whom  we  had  received  the 


46 


presents  the  evening  before  the  counter  presents 
due  to  him.  At  the  same  time,  we  made  the 
proper  tribute  of  presents  to  the  parents  of  our 
interpreter,  the  latter  having  given  us  to  under- 
stand that  the  sooner  it  was  done,  the  greater 
would  be  their  esteem  for  us.  To  her  father  we 
gave  some  ells  of  woollen  cloth,  a  large  knife, 
some  fish-hooks,  and  some  pounds  of  tobacco; 
to  her  mother  a  shift,  some  needles,  a  small  look- 
ing-glass, some  ribbon,  and  some  glass  beads.  As 
soon  as  we  had  performed  these  necessary  cere- 
monies, we  were  permitted  to  walk  about  wher- 
ever we  chose,  without  the  trouble  of  guides. 
Dr.  Langsdorff  even  shot  some  birds  close  to  the 
fortress  without  attracting  any  attention. 

The  natives  of  the  Northwest  Coast  of  America 
are  called  by  the  Kussians  Kaluschians,  but  this 
people  call  themselves  Schitchachon,  or  inhab- 
itants of  Sitcha.  Expelled  from  Norfolk  Sound, 
they  had  fortified  themselves  here,  upon  a  rock 
which  rose  perpendicularly  to  the  height  of  sev- 
eral hundred  feet  above  the  water's  edge.  The 
only  possible  access  to  it  was  on  the  northwest 
side,  and  here  it  had  been  rendered  extremely 
difficult  by  very  large  trunks  of  trees  strewn 
over  it.  The  rock  itself  was  secured  against  the 
attack  of  an  enemy  by  a  double  palisade,  meas- 


47 


uring  from  twelve  to  fifteen  feet  in  height,  and 
from  three  to  four  in  thickness.  A  natural  wall 
of  earth  beyond  the  palisading,  on  the  side 
towards  the  sea,  conceals  the  habitations  so 
effectually,  that  they  cannot  be  discerned  from 
a  ship. 

The  houses  within  the  fortress  were  placed 
in  regular  rows,  and  built  of  thick  plank,  fas- 
tened to  posts  which  formed  the  frame-work, 
and  covered  at  the  top  with  bark.  The  en- 
trance was  at  the  gable  end,  and  was  often 
stained  with  different  colored  earths.  The  in- 
teriors of  their  dwellings  were  indescribably 
filthy,  filled  with  smoke,  and  perfumed  with 
decayed  fish  and  train-oil.  The  men  painted 
their  faces,  and,  as  well  as  the  women,  de- 
lighted in  profuse  ornaments ;  like  other  sav- 
ages, they  were  particularly  pleased  with  glit- 
tering trinkets,  or  European  garments.  The 
women  on  the  coast  had  one  very  strange 
fashion,  which  I  think  is  peculiar  to  this  part 
of  the  world.  At  the  age  of  fourteen  or  fif- 
teen, they  make  a  hole  in  their  under  lip  and 
insert  a  small  piece  of  wood  like  a  button. 
This  is  increased  in  size  as  they  advance  in 
age,  until  it  is  three  or  four  inches  long,  and 
one  or  two  wide.  I  saw  one  old  woman,  the  wife 


48 


of  a  chief,  whose  lip  ornament  was  so  large, 
that,  by  a  peculiar  motion  of  her  under  lip,  she 
could  almost  conceal  her  whole  face  with  it. 
You  will  naturally  inquire  the  reason  of  this 
barbarous  method  of  adornment.  I  might  reply 
by  asking  the  reason  of  some  equally  strange 
fashions  among  civilized  nations.  But,  without 
casting  any  reflections  on  my  countrywomen, 
I  may  be  allowed  to  make  one  observation, 
which  has  probably  occurred  already  to  my 
readers;  and  that  is,  that  it  is  utterly  impossi- 
ble for  the  fair  sex  of  the  Northwest  Coast  to 
enjoy  the  luxury  of  a  kiss. 

The  occupations  of  the  Sitcha  Indians,  beside 
hunting  and  fishing,  appeared  to  be  making 
canoes,  fishing-lines  and  hooks,  and  wooden  ware. 
The  women  manufacture  a  kind  of  carpet  out 
of  the  wool  of  wild  sheep,  and  are  very  expert 
in  wicker-work;  some  of  their  baskets  are  so 
closely  woven  as  to  hold  water.  Both  sexes 
are  expert  in  the  use  of  fire-arms,  and  are  ex- 
cellent judges  of  their  quality.  I  could  not 
find  that  they  had  any  organized  government. 
Success  in  fishing  and  in  the  chase  constitutes 
the  source  of  their  wealth,  and  consequently 
of  their  influence.  In  feuds  between  different 
families  the  right  of  the  strongest  prevails,  and 


49 


they  are  only  banded  together  against  common 
enemies. 

Having  passed  two  days  at  the  Indian  set- 
tlement, we  set  out  on  our  return  to  New  Arch- 
angel. On  our  route  we  visited  the  chief  Schin- 
chetaez,  with  whom  we  had  passed  a  night  on 
our  way  to  Sitcha.  This  man  had  been  friendly 
to  the  Russians,  and  was  in  consequence  an  out- 
cast from  his  own  people.  He  was  glad  to  see 
us  again,  and  entertained  us  hospitably.  We 
gave  him  a  few  presents,  which  were  thankfully 
received,  and,  had  he  been  able,  he  would  have 
given  in  return.  While  with  him  we  saw  some 
Kaluschian  Indians  go  into  the  sea  to  bathe, 
when  the  thermometer  was  below  freezing.  They 
ran  for  some  distance  over  the  ice,  and  then 
plunged  in,  and  performed  all  manner  of  antics, 
with  the  same  apparent  enjoyment  as  if  it  had 
been  a  warm  spring. 

After  taking  leave  of  our  host  we  entered 
our  baidarkas  and  resumed-  our  journey;  and 
in  due  time  reached  New  Archangel  and  our 
friends,  without  any  accident  or  occurrence  of 
sufficient  interest  to  record. 


IV. 


PREPARATIONS  FOR  WINTER.  —  WINTER  AMUSEMENTS.  —  RESANOFF  MAKES 
AN  EXPEDITION  TO  CALIFORNIA.  —  BATTLE  BETWEEN  A  WOLF  AND  A 
RAM. — I  SAIL  FOR  OCHOTSK  IN  THE  RlJSSISLOFF. 

SHORTLY  after  our  return  from  the  excursion 
narrated  in  the  last  chapter,  our  friends  Schwos- 
toff  and  Davidoff  arrived  from  Kodiak  with  the 
Juno,  and  brought  a  considerable  quantity  of 
dried  fish,  oil,  beans,  &c.,  to  increase  our  stock 
of  winter  provisions.  The  dried  fish  was  called 
ukler,  and  was  prepared  by  splitting  and  taking 
out  the  backbone  of  the  fish,  and  then  laying  it 
in  the  sun.  Thus  cured,  it  was  eaten  as  a  substi- 
tute for  bread.  The  people  having  now  a  fair 
allowance  of  provisions,  the  operations  at  the  set- 
tlement went  on  quite  encouragingly.  In  the 
course  of  the  month  of  December  the  carpenter 
got  the  keel  of  a  new  vessel  laid,  and  made  good 
progress  in  cutting  the  timber  and  sawing  the 
plank.  The  two  brigs,  Maria  and  KussisloffJ  were 
hauled  upon  the  beach  and  shored  up  out  of  the 
tide's  way.  They  furnished  very  good  accommo- 


51 


dations  for  a  large  number  of  the  workmen.  The 
Juno  remained  riding  at  anchor  in  the  harbor. 
Watchmen  were  stationed  along  the  shore,  in 
both  directions  from  the  fort,  and  shouted  "  All 's 
well,"  from  one  end  to  the  other,  at  intervals, 
throughout  the  whole  night.  All  were  working 
cheerfully,  and  hard  enough  to  kill  anybody 
but  Kussians.  The  Indians  made  us  frequent 
ceremonial  visits,  and  displayed  their  talent  for 
long  speeches  and  for  dancing.  They  seemed 
anxious  to  bury  the  hatchet,  and  renew  inter- 
course on  friendly  terms,  which  was  also  the  wish 
of  the  settlers.  In  short,  everything  was  in  good 
trim  for  the  winter. 

The  fare  for  the  present  allowed  even  to  the 
poor  workmen  was  tolerable,  as  a  small  portion 
of  the  cargo  of  the  Juno  was  dealt  out  to  them ; 
but  the  officers  had  the  control  of  all  the  luxu- 
ries,—  if  such  they  may  be  called;  and  these, 
together  with  the  game  and  fish  that  were  con- 
tinually brought  in,  supplied  the  Governor's  table 
with  an  abundance  of  good  cheer.  There  were 
seven  of  us  who  regularly  dined  at  it,  and  by 
invitation  we  frequently  had  ten. 

By  the  last  of  the  month  the  weather  began 
to  grow  cooler ;  yet,  though  it  was  December,  we 
had  little  or  no  snow,  but  much  rain  and  fog.  In 


52 


the  forenoon  I  generally  took  a  stroll  along  the 
shore,  with  my  gun,  to  the  place  where  the  new 
vessel  was  building.  One  or  two  of  the  officers 
usually  accompanied  me ;  and  after  reaching  the 
spot  we  would  turn  and  walk  the  same  distance, 
about  a  mile  and  a  half,  in  the  opposite  direction. 
Sometimes  we  carried  home  a  little  game. 

January  brought  cold,  but  not  severe  weather. 
The  workmen  began  to  flag.  The  poor  fellows 
had  been  driven  too  hard,  regardless  of  wet  and 
snow.  They  were  now  getting  sickly,  and  it  was 
found  necessary  to  ease  off  their  tasks  a  little. 
The  officers,  on  the  other  hand,  lived  comforta- 
bly enough,  and  even  started  a  new  kind  of 
entertainment.  The  Eussians  build  their  log 
houses  in  a  very  substantial  manner,  of  heavy 
timber,  and  stop  the  cracks  perfectly  tight  with 
moss.  Some  of  them  were  very  large,  accom- 
modating after  a  fashion  fifty  or  sixty  persons. 
Several  such  were  completed  just  at  this  time, 
and  it  occurred  to  us  that  they  were  well  calcu- 
lated for  ball-rooms,  and  that  we  could  pass  away 
the  tedious  hours  of  the  night  in  dancing.  We 
made  out  bravely  in  cotillons  and  contra-dances, 
but  were  rather  deficient  at  first  in  female  part- 
ners. Many  of  the  under  officers  had  their  wives 
with  them,  and  we  picked  out  some  of  the  Kodiak 


53 


women,  who  were  accustomed  to  the  Russian 
dances,  and  learned  the  figures  easily.  When 
dressed  in  their  finery  they  appeared  quite  re- 
spectably. His  Excellency  the  Plenipotentiary 
was  always  with  us  on  these  occasions,  and  would 
upon  an  emergency  take  the  fiddle,  on  which  he 
was  quite  a  good  performer.  Dr.  Langsdorff  and 
my  man  Parker  took  turns  at  the  bow,  and  with 
plenty  of  good  resin  for  the  stomach  as  well  as 
the  bow,  we  made  "  a  gay  season "  of  it. 

In  February  the  weather  was  rather  more  se- 
vere than  the  previous  month,  but  by  no  means 
so  cold  as  in  the  United  States,  latitude  42°.  The 
harbors  and  inlets  about  the  sound  were  free  from 
ice.  With  all  our  attempts  to  get  up  amusements, 
the  time  hung  heavily  upon  our  hands,  and  we 
did  little  else  than  sleep  and  long  for  spring. 
The  Sitcha  Indians  brought  in  excellent  fresh 
halibut,  which  they  exchanged  for  fish-hooks  and 
old  clothes.  To  me  especially  they  were  very 
friendly,  and  came  often  to  my  lodgings,  seeming 
to  know  that  I  was  not  one  of  the  Russians. 

The  waters  of  the  neighborhood  abounded  with 
numerous  and  choice  varieties  of  the  finny  tribe, 
which  could  be  taken  at  all  seasons  of  the  year. 
The  poor  Russians  might  have  fared  much  better 
than  they  did,  had  they  been  spared  from  their 


54 


work  to  catch  them.  Labor  and  exposure  began 
to  tell  on  them.  The  scurvy  had  killed  a  num- 
ber of  them,  and  many  were  sick.  Dr.  Langsdorff 
frequently  remonstrated  in  their  behalf,  but  to 
little  purpose. 

There  had  been  much  talk  of  late  among  the 
higher  officers  upon  the  expediency  of  making 
an  expedition  to  California,  with  a  view  to  obtain- 
ing a  fresh  supply  of  provisions,  and  opening,  if 
possible,  a  traffic  with  the  Spanish  Mission  at  San 
Francisco.  By  the  first  of  March  this  enterprise 
was  resolved  upon  and  well  matured,  and  active 
preparations  were  made  to  put  it  into  immediate 
execution.  His  Excellency,  Baron  von  Kesanoff, 
decided  to  take  charge  of  it  in  person.  This 
arrangement  gave  me  some  uneasiness,  lest  he 
should  not  return  in  time  to  fulfil  his  promise 
to  proceed  with  me  in  May  in  the  Juno  to 
Ochotsk.  I  explained  to  him  how  great  the  dis- 
appointment and  inconvenience  would  be,  if  my 
departure  was  delayed  until  late  in  the  season. 
But  he  silenced  my  complaints  by  assuring  me 
that  he  had  ordered  the  brig  Maria,  Captain 
Maschin,  to  be  ready  to  sail  for  Ochotsk  as  soon  as 
the  season  would  permit.  With  this  promise  I  was 
constrained  to  be  satisfied.  By  the  active  exer- 
tion of  Lieutenants  Schwostoff  and  Davidoff  the 


55 


Juno  was  quickly  put  in  sailing  trim,  and  weighed 
anchor  on  the  8th  of  March  for  San  Francisco. 
I  was  invited  to  accompany  them,  but  declined. 
Deprived  of  my  friends  and  companions,  I  occu- 
pied myself,  as  best  I  could,  in  making  excursions 
in  baidarkas  about  the  shores  and  harbors. 

Among  the  domestic  animals  of  the  village  — 
and  the  number  was  very  limited,  there  being 
two  old  cows,  eight  or  ten  hogs,  and  as  many 
dogs  —  there  were  two  sheep,  a  buck  and  a 
ewe,  which  I  had  presented  to  the  Governor  on 
my  first  visit.  The  ewe  in  the  course  of  the 
winter  had  been  devoured  by  the  wolves  or  the 
bears,  as  it  was  said  ;  but  I  thought  it  more 
probable  by  some  of  the  half-starved  Eussians. 
The  buck  became  quite  a  pet  with  the  settlers. 
Towards  spring  he  began  to  take  advantage  of 
familiar  treatment,  and  show  many  positive  signs 
of  a  pugnacious  disposition,  and  with  very  little 
respect  for  persons.  As  Billy  and  I  were  from 
the  same  country  town,  and  appeared  to  be  alone 
among  strangers,  I  always  made  it  a  point,  when 
I  passed  him,  to  salute  him  with  the  familiar 
phrase  of  "How  are  you,  Billy?"  and  he  would 
seem  to  respond  by  a  look  of  recognition.  It 
so  happened,  however,  that  one  day,  as  I  was 
coming  from  the  Governor's  house  upon  the  hill, 


56 


after  a  good  substantial  dinner,  and  had  reached 
the  beginning  of  the  descent  where  stood  the 
sentinel  with  Billy  at  a  little  distance  from  him, 
I  gave  him  the  usual   greeting,  and  began  to 
go  down,  when,  perfectly  unconscious  of  having 
offended  man  or  beast,  I  received  a  contusion 
in  the  rear,  which  sent  me  head-foremost  down 
the  declivity  with  telegraphic  velocity,  and  with 
a  shock  which  seemed  to  disturb  my  whole  stow- 
age, even  to  the  very  ground  tier.     I  got  up 
as  soon  as  I  could  collect  my  scattered  senses, 
and   brushed   the   dust   out   of  my  eyes,  when 
looking  up  the  hill  I  saw  Billy,  the  ram,  from 
whom  I  had  received  the  assault,  making  sig- 
nificant demonstrations  of  another  onslaught.     I 
had  scarcely  scrambled  a  little  to  one  side  before 
he  came  down  again  full  charge.     This  time  I 
dodged  him,  and,  not  meeting  the  check  he  ex- 
pected, he  went  a  considerable  distance  before  he 
could  recover  himself.     Still  unsatisfied  with  the 
result,  he  was   preparing   to  make  another  bolt 
up  hill  at  me;  but  now,  having  the  advantage 
of  the  ground,  I  was  ready  to  receive  him.     The 
current  was  this  time  against  him,  and  his  head- 
way a  good   deal  impeded.     I  caught  him   by 
the  neck  and  beat  him,  and  endeavored  to  turn 
him  off ;  but  as  soon  as  I  let  him  go,  he  rushed 


57 


upon  me  again.  Finally,  finding  it  impossible 
to  get  rid  of  him,  I  took  a  stone  to  increase  the 
solidity  of  my  fist,  with  which  I  was  obliged  to 
pound  the  creature  till  the  blood  ran  freely. 
There  was  still  no  yield  in  him.  The  sentinel, 
who  had  till  now  been  looking  on,  —  to  see  fair 
play,  I  suppose,  —  seeing  that  I  should  probably 
kill  him,  left  his  post  and  came  to  the  rescue. 
Thus  ended  the  farcical  scene  of  a  battle  between 
a  sheep  and  a  Wolf,  in  which  neither  could  right- 
fully claim  the  victory. 

April  came,  and  no  movement  was  made 
towards  getting  the  Maria  off  the  beach,  pre- 
paratory to  the  voyage  to  Ochotsk.  Captain 
Maschin  complained  that  he  could  not  get  men. 
In  fact,  there  was  so  much  work  to  be  done 
at  the  settlement,  and  the  number  of  hands  so 
much  reduced  by  the  California  expedition,  that 
it  was  impossible  to  spare  laborers  for  the  vessels. 
Moreover,  many  of  them  were  sick,  and  among 
the  healthy  there  were  no  sailors ;  so  operations 
in  the  navigation  line  were  suspended. 

May  commenced  with  quite  pleasant  and 
warm  weather.  About  the  10th,  the  ship  Okain, 
Captain  Jonathan  Winship,  arrived  at  the  sound. 
He  came  direct  from  the  United  States  with- 
out any  cargo,  but  for  the  express  purpose  of 


58 


obtaining  Kodiak  Indians  and  baidarkas  for  a 
voyage  to  California  to  catch  sea-otter,  on  the 
same  plan  I  had  relinquished  on  the  sale  of  my 
ship.  He  made  all  the  necessary  arrangements, 
and  sailed  about  the  middle  of  the  month. 

The  mild  weather  melted  the  snow  very  fast, 
and  by  the  last  of  May  the  frost  was  all  out  of 
the  ground.  Governor  Baranoff  was  desirous 
of  having  a  good  kitchen  garden,  and  so,  to 
commence  the  business  with  a  sort  of  flourish,  we 
made  up  a  pretty  substantial  picnic  party.  A 
little  way  back  from  the  shore  we  found  a  con- 
siderable clearing  without  underbrush,  and  here 
we  staked  out  about  two  acres  of  land.  It  was 
good  soil,  deep  and  rich,  and  we  all  tried  our 
hand  at  the  spade.  The  Governor  setting  the 
example,  we  went  to  work  with  a  good  will. 
Soon  getting  tired,  we  adjourned  to  the  refresh- 
ments, at  which  it  was  thought  we  showed  more 
talent  than  at  the  spade.  Some  of  us,  they  told 
us,  got  quite  blue  by  the  time  we  had  finished 
our  labors.  This  was  the  first  ground  ever 
broken  for  a  garden  at  New  Archangel.  Another 
diversion  was  taking  salmon,  which  at  this  season 
ran  up  into  the  creeks  and  inlets  in  great  num- 
bers. As  many  of  the  people  as  could  be  de- 
tached from  their  regular  occupations  were  set 


59 


to  catching  them,  and  curing  them  for  winter 
provisions,  in  the  manner  I  have  before  described. 

While  waiting  impatiently  for  the  arrival  of 
the  Juno,  I  made  many  excursions  about  the 
sound  in  my  baidarka.  About  seven  or  eight 
miles  from  the  village,  there  was  a  hot-water 
spring  which  I  visited.  Situated  in  a  beautiful, 
romantic  place,  the  water  runs  down  from  the 
foot  of  a  high  mountain,  in  a  small  serpentine 
rivulet,  for  several  hundred  yards,  and  empties 
into  a  broad  basin,  several  rods  in  diameter, 
which  has  a  sandy  bottom.  The  heat  of  the 
water  at  its  source  is  about  150°,  and  as  it 
spreads  over  the  basin  below  it  cools  down  to 
100°.  It  is  strongly  impregnated  with  sulphur, 
and  with  salt  and  magnesia. 

To  our  great  joy,  on  the  21st  of  June  the 
Juno  returned  from  California,  with  all  our 
friends  and  a  tolerable  supply  of  wheat,  jerked 
beef,  English  beans,  &c. ;  but  his  Excellency  failed 
to  make  any  arrangement  for  the  future.  The 
Governor  of  San  Francisco  remonstrated  against 
sending  Kussian  subjects  to  hunt  sea-otter  on  the 
shores  and  in  the  harbors  of  New  Albion,  and 
prevailed  upon  Baron  von  Eesanoff  to  promise 
to  put  a  stop  to  all  adventures  of  that  nature. 

I  immediately  applied  to   Kesanoff  to  know 


60 


how  and  when  he  intended  to  fulfil  his  promise 
of  providing  me  a  passage  to  Ochotsk.  It  was 
now  the  last  of  June,  and  there  were  no  prep- 
arations in  either  of  the  vessels  for  that  purpose. 
He  told  me  that  the  Juno  should  be  got  ready 
as  soon  as  the  little  vessel  could  be  rigged  to 
accompany  her ;  but  the  little  vessel  was  yet 
on  the  stocks,  and  it  did  not  appear  to  me,  from 
the  rate  at  which  the  work  was  progressing, 
that  she  would  be  in  sailing  order  before  August. 
In  fact,  I  became  quite  alarmed,  lest  the  season 
should  be  so  far  advanced  that  I  should  be 
obliged  to  make  a  winter  journey  across  the 
Russian  Empire.  I  had  had  some  conversa- 
tion with  Dr.  Langsdorff  about  taking  the  brig 
Russisloff,  if  they  would  allow  me,  and  making 
my  own  way  to  Ochotsk.  The  Doctor  eagerly 
caught  at  the  idea,  and  resolved  to  go  with 
me,  if  I  could  obtain  her.  I  accordingly  made 
the  proposal  to  his  Excellency,  and  it  was  readily 
accepted.  He  offered  to  put  as  many  men  to 
work  upon  the  Russisloff  as  I  needed.  She  was 
a  little  craft  of  twenty-five  tons  burden,  built 
by  the  Russian  American  Company  at  Bhering's 
Bay,  and  in  construction  a  kind  of  nondescript. 
She  was  lying  high  and  dry  upon  the  beach,  but, 
with  the  assistance  rendered,  I  had  her  ready 


61 


for  sea  in  less  than  a  week,  well  stored  with 
a  plenty  of  the  best  provisions  the  place  afford- 
ed. My  crew  consisted  of  seven  men,  three  of 
whom  were  Indians  and  natives  of  Alashka,  mak- 
ing with  Dr.  Langsdorff,  my  man  Parker,  and  my- 
self, ten  in  all.  I  am  happy  to  say  that  every- 
thing was  done  by  the  authorities  to  expedite 
my  departure,  and  they  all  seemed  anxious  to 
show  me  every  kindness  and  attention  in  their 
power.  Having  been  furnished  with  the  neces- 
sary papers  for  my  voyage,  I  took  leave  of  his 
Excellency  Baron  von  Eesanoff,  Governor  Bara- 
noff,  and  my  other  friends,  and  put  to  sea  on 
the  30th  of  June,  1806,  shaping  my  course  for 
the  island  of  Kodiak. 


V. 


DULL  SAILING.  —  I  TOUCH  AT  KODIAK  AND  ALASHKA.  —  TAKE  IN  PAS- 
SENGERS AT   OONALASHKA.  —  No    PROSPECT    OF    COMPLETING    MY  VOY- 

AGE  THIS  SEASON.  —  DETERMINE  TO  WINTER  AT  PETROPOWLOWSK. 

BEING  at  sea  again,  and  on  my  own  vessel,  I 
had  leisure  for  a  more  deliberate  view  of  the  step 
I  had  taken,  in  attempting  to  seek  my  own  way 
to  Ochotsk,  in  preference  to  waiting  for  the  Juno. 
My  little  craft  was  large  and  safe  enough  for  the 
purpose ;  but  I  was  now  convinced  by  her  slug- 
gish motion  that  it  was  very  doubtful  whether  I 
gained  the  port  of  my  destination  before  it  was 
too  late  in  the  autumn  to  pursue  my  journey 
across  Siberia.  Our  best  sailing  before  the  wind 
was  hardly  five  knots,  and  by  the  wind  two  and 
a  half.  We  had  a  voyage  of  2,500  miles  before 
us,  and  at  a  season  of  the  year  in  that  water 
most  subject  to  calms,  light  winds,  and  fogs. 

This  tract  of  ocean,  from  longitude  130°  west, 
along  the  entire  coast  of  Alashka  and  through 
the  seas  of  Kamtchatka  and  Ochotsk,  was  at  that 
time  the  great  place  of  resort  of  the  right  whale. 


63 


Persecuted  in  all  its  other  haunts,  it  had  sought 
refuge  in  this  northern  region,  where  as  yet  a 
whale-ship  had  never  made  its  appearance.  We 
were  frequently  surrounded  by  them.  Sometimes 
they  would  take  a  position  at  the  windward,  and 
come  down  towards  us,  as  if  they  were  deter- 
mined to  sink  us ;  but  when  they  had  approached 
within  eight  or  ten  rods,  they  would  dip  and  go 
under,  or  make  a  circuit  round  us.  Most  of  them 
were  much  longer  than  our  vessel,  and  it  would 
have  taken  but  a  slight  blow  from  one  to  have 
smashed  her  into  a  thousand  pieces. 

On  the  13th  of  July  we  saw  the  high  land 
near  the  entrance  of  Cook's  Inlet ;  and  on  the 
17th  arrived  at  the  harbor  of  St.  Paul,  in  the 
island  of  Kodiak,  after  a  passage  of  eighteen 
days,  and  which  might  have  been  performed  by 
an  ordinary  sailing  craft,  with  the  same  winds,  in 
ten  days.  Here  my  letters  of  introduction  made 
me  acquainted  with  Mr.  Bander,  the  Company's 
Superintendent.  He  received  us  with  great  cor- 
diality, and  readily  procured  me  a  man  to  serve 
as  mate.  He  likewise  furnished  all  the  supplies 
we  were  in  need  of,  and  saw  that  they  were  put 
on  board ;  so  that  Dr.  Langsdorff  and  myself 
had  little  else  to  do  than  to  look  about  and  see 
the  lions.  The  village  consisted  of  about  forty 


64 


houses,  of  various  descriptions,  including  a 
church,  school-house,  storehouse,  and  barracks. 
The  school-house  was  quite  a  respectable  es- 
tablishment, well  filled  with  pupils,  under  the 
especial  care,  as  teacher,  of  the  "  Pope,"  or  eccle- 
siastic. He  instructed  them  in  reading,  writing, 
arithmetic,  and  keeping  accounts.  Many  among 
them  were  excellent  scholars  in  these  branches. 
The  Doctor  and  myself  made  an  excursion  to  an 
adjacent  island,  where  the  Pope  had  a  consider- 
able tract  of  land  under  cultivation,  raising  po- 
tatoes, cabbages,  turnips,  cucumbers,  and  other 
vegetables.  He  also  kept  several  milch  cows,  and 
appeared  to  live  in  quite  a  farmer-like  style.  We 
concluded  to  pass  the  night  with  him,  and  were 
hospitably  entertained  by  his  wife. 

Having  taken  on  board  some  freight  of  skins 
and  sea-elephant's  teeth  for  Ochotsk,  and  a  cask  of 
brandy  for  the  island  of  Oonalashka,  on  the  23d 
of  July  we  took  leave  of  our  friends,  Mr.  Bander 
and  the  Pope,  and  started  again  on  our  route. 
The  wind  was  so  strong  from  the  southeast  that 
I  found  it  impossible  to  weather  the  southern 
point  of  the  island,  and  thus  to  get  to  the  west- 
ward of  it.  I  concluded  to  bear  up,  and  pass 
through  the  SchelikofFs  Strait.  This  is  a  chan- 
nel formed  by  an  archipelago  of  islands  (of  which 


65 


Kodiak  is  the  principal),  and  the  peninsula  of 
Alashka.  But  by  reason  of  light  and  contrary 
winds,  we  did  not  get  fairly  into  the  strait  until 
the  26th,  and  shortly  after  encountered  a  strong 
wind  from  the  west,  with  heavy  squalls,  which 
soon  increased  to  such  a  severe  gale,  that  we 
were  compelled  to  seek  shelter  on  the  Alashka 
shore.  Here  I  found  my  Indian  sailors,  who  had 
proved  good  men  from  the  beginning,  to  be  of  the 
greatest  service.  I  mentioned  above  that  they 
were  natives  of  Alashka,  and  they  were  perfectly 
acquainted  with  the  shore.  They  pointed  out  to 
me-  a  good  harbor,  for  which  I  steered ;  and  as 
we  rounded  the  point  at  its  entrance,  which  was 
called  Kudak,  a  baidarka  containing  one  man 
came  alongside.  He  turned  out  to  be  the  father 
of  one  of  my  sailors,  and  they  had  not  seen  each 
other  before  for  two  years.  They  did  not  appear, 
however,  to  be  over-rejoiced  at  this  accidental 
meeting.  They  embraced  each  other  after  the 
Russian  custom,  had  a  little  chat  together,  and 
then  went  about  their  business,  without  showing 
any  disposition  for  further  communication. 

In  the  course  of  the  night  the  gale  increased 
so  much  that  I  deemed  it  prudent  to  let  go  our 
best  bow-anchor  ;  but  with  the  return  of  light 
the  wind  abated,  and  the  weather  became  quite 

9 


66 


pleasant.  Doctor  Langsdorff  and  myself  took 
our  baidarka,  and  went  to  the  village,  which  was 
situated  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  harbor  from 
where  we  lay.  It  consisted  of  eight  or  ten  habi- 
tations, which  looked  more  like  mounds  of  earth 
than  houses.  They  contained  but  one  room,  of 
an  oval  form,  and  about  fifteen  feet  across.  The 
earth  was  dug  out  about  three  feet  in  depth, 
and  raised  from  the  surface  about  three  feet 
more,  and  to  enter  we  had  to  crawl  on  our 
hands  and  knees.  The  light  was  admitted 
through  windows  of  transparent  skins,  as  a 
substitute  for  glass.  Their  quarters  were  cer- 
tainly comfortable  for  winter.  The  floors  were 
covered  with  spruce  boughs,  and  mats  were  laid 
over  them,  which  made  the  apartment  dry  and 
warm.  An  aperture  was  left  in  the  top  for  ven- 
tilation. The  outside  was  covered  with  a  luxu- 
rious growth  of  grass.  The  occupants  were 
principally  women,  with  a  few  old  men  ;  the 
young  men  had  all  gone  out  hunting  the  sea- 
otter,  in  the  Russian  service.  Those  at  home 
seemed  to  be  quite  happy  and  contented,  and 
were  all  employed  in  making  water-proof  gar- 
ments from  the  entrails  of  sea-lions,  for  their 
husbands  and  sweethearts.  We  bought  of  them 
a  number  of  articles  of  their  manufacture,  — 


67 


curious  and  very  neat  work, —  such  as  pocket- 
books,  baskets,  &c.,  —  and  paid  them  in  tobacco 
and  beads. 

On  the  28th  of  July,  the  wind  being  moderate 
and  favorable,  we  put  to  sea  again,  and  pursued 
our  course  to  the  westward  along  the  coast  of 
Alashka.  We  made  but  slow  progress  on  our 
voyage,  and  by  the  9th  of  August  we  had  only 
reached  the  end  of  the  peninsula.  The  same 
day  we  passed  through  between  the  island  of 
Oonemak  and  the  easternmost  of  the  Fox  Islands. 
On  the  12th  we  arrived  at  the  island  of  Oon- 
alashka.  I  had  no  cause  to  stop  here  beyond 
the  desire  of  replenishing  our  water-casks  and 
stores.  Owing  to  our  tardy  progress,  —  having 
as  yet,  performed  only  one  third  of  the  distance 
from  Kodiak  to  Ochotsk,  —  our  provisions  were 
more  than  half  consumed.  I  therefore  felt  my- 
self constrained  to  put  in  for  a  further  supply. 

The  Company's  Superintendent,  Lariwanoff,  a 
gentleman  highly  esteemed  by  them,  had  died 
a  short  time  previous  to  our  arrival,  leaving  a 
widow  and  an  only  child,  a  daughter  about 
eighteen  years  of  age.  I  was  received  by  his 
successor  with  much  kindness,  and  with  an  ap- 
parent disposition  to  facilitate  my  voyage.  The 
harbor,  Illuluk,  was  spacious  and  well  sheltered 


68 


on  all  sides.  There  was  a  good  anchorage  in 
four  or  five  fathoms  of  water,  on  a  sand  and 
clay  bottom,  at  a  convenient  distance  from  the 
shore.  While  making  some  necessary  repairs  on 
my  little  vessel,  and  getting  supplies  aboard, 
Madam  Lariwanoif  learned  that  I  was  bound 
to  Ochotsk.  She  immediately  came,  and  on  her 
knees  entreated  me  to  have  compassion  on  her 
lonely  and  bereaved  condition,  and  let  her  and 
her  daughter  take  passage  with  me.  Irkutsk  in 
Siberia  was  her  native  place,  and  thither  she 
was  desirous  of  returning  after  a  residence  on 
this  island  ten  years.  Her  solicitations  were  so 
earnest  that  I  had  not  the  heart  to  refuse  her, 
and  notwithstanding  our  contracted  accommoda- 
tions, entirely  unfit  for  a  woman's  occupation, 
I  resolved  to  take  her  under  my  protection.  I 
went  aboard,  and  set  about  making  the  best 
possible  arrangements  for  her  comfort,  gave  up 
my  bunk,  enlarged  it  sufficiently  for  the  mother 
and  child  together,  and  partitioned  off  the  little 
cabin  with  a  canvas  screen.  I  immediately  com- 
menced taking  on  board  their  goods  and  chattels, 
with  which,  however,  they  were  not  overbur- 
dened ;  but  she  had  been  preparing  to  leave  the 
island  for  some  time,  and  had  accumulated  a 
goodly  stock  of  provisions  of  various  kinds, — 


69 


several  barrels  of  eggs,  put  up  in  oil,  smoked 
geese  in  abundance,  dried  and  pickled  fish  of 
an  excellent  quality,  and  other  things  equally 
good.  Thus  our  fare  promised  to  be  the  best 
the  island  afforded.  In  the  mean  time  the  Super- 
intendent began  to  make  objections,  and  throw 
difficulties  in  the  way  of  the  old  lady's  going 
with  me.  She  might  make  reports  which  would 
not  redound  to  his  credit.  But  I  had  it  in  my 
power  to  silence  all  his  objections,  having  on 
board  the  cask  of  brandy,  which  it  was  at  my 
option  to  leave  with  him,  or  take  to  Ochotsk. 
On  his  application  for  it,  I  demurred  until  he 
withdrew  all  his  opposition  to  the  widow's  leav- 
ing, and  was  willing  to  grant  anything  on  the 
island  we  wished.  He  was  a  dear  lover  of  "  the 
ardent." 

Everything  now  went  on  smoothly,  and  in  a 
few  days  we  were  ready  for  sea ;  but  adverse 
winds  detained  us,  and  I  seized  the  opportunity 
to  take  a  stroll  over  the  island  with  the  Doctor 
and  Superintendent.  It  was  totally  bare  of  trees 
and  shrubs,  and  with  little  or  no  game  but  foxes. 
The  whole  value  and  importance  of  the  Aleutian 
group  consist  in  the  sea  animals  taken  on  their 
shores  and  bays,  such  as  fur-seals,  walruses,  sea- 
lions,  and  sea-otter ;  though  of  the  latter  there 


70 


were  few.  This  is  likewise  the  principal  depot 
of  the  fisheries  of  the  smaller  islands,  and  from 
here  the  furs  are  periodically  shipped  to  Ochotsk. 
In  the  course  of  our  ramble  we  ascended  some 
high  table-land  with  the  hope  of  obtaining  a 
view  of  the  new  island,  which  we  were  informed 
had  recently  made  its  appearance  in  the  Sea  of 
Kamtchatka,  to  the  northwest  of  Oonalashka ; 
but  we  were  disappointed  by  a  thick  mist's  setting 
in,  which  obscured  all  distant  objects.  After 
wandering  about  in  the  numerous  fox-paths,  and 
with  great  caution,  to  avoid  the  many  traps 
set  for  those  animals,  we  returned  to  the  village, 
somewhat  hungry  and  leg-weary,  and  with  but 
little  satisfaction  to  boast  of,  beyond  traversing 
a  region  rendered  classic  by  the  verse  of  Camp- 
bell, in  the  "  Pleasures  of  Hope  "  :  — 

"  Now  far  he  sweeps,  where  scarce  a  summer  smiles, 
On  Behring's  rocks,  or  Greenland's  naked  isles  ; 
Cold  on  his  midnight  watch  the  breezes  blow, 
From  wastes  that  slumber  in  eternal  snow  ; 
And  waft,  across  the  waves'  tumultuous  roar, 
The  wolf's  long  howl  from  Oonalashka's  shore." 

But,  in  fact,  I  was  the  only  Wolf  ever  known 
upon  the  island.  Nevertheless,  I  came  near  ver- 
ifying the  poet's  language,  as  I  barely  escaped 
being  caught  in  one  of  those  fox-traps ;  in  which 


71 


event  I  should  have  probably  howled  lustily,  for 
they  were  terrible  instruments. 

August  16th,  the  wind  and  weather  being  fa- 
vorable, Madame  Lariwanoff,  her  daughter,  and 
man-servant,  came  on  board,  and  we  put  to  sea ; 
and  I  have  every  reason  to  believe  with  the  fer- 
vent prayers  of  every  individual  upon  the  island 
for  God's  blessing  upon  their  patroness,  and  good 
speed  to  our  little  craft.  The  next  day  we  saw 
the  new  island,  to  which  I  was  desirous  to  get 
near  enough  to  send  a  baidarka,  particularly  as 
the  Doctor  was  anxious  to  get  some  specimens 
of  natural  history ;  but  a  thick  fog  coming  up, 
and  having  a  leading  wind,  we  concluded  to  con- 
tinue our  voyage  without  loss  of  time.  On  the 
18th  we  lost  sight  of  the  islands,  and,  with  a  light 
wind  and  rain,  slowly  pursued  our  course  to  the 
westward,  across  the  Sea  of  Kamtchatka,  to  the 
north  of  the  Aleutian  group ;  but  such  was  our 
tardy  progress,  that  by  the  28th  we  had  only 
reached  the  neighborhood  of  Atter,  the  most 
western  island.  Then  for  ten  days  in  succes- 
sion we  had  calms,  fogs,  and  light  adverse  winds. 
Our  patience  was  sorely  tried,  but  the  monotony 
of  our  life  was  alleviated  by  the  numerous  and 
great  variety  of  sea-birds,  which  were  constantly 
flying  round  us,  and  furnished  endless  sport  with 


72 


the  musket.  And  here  I  feel  bound  to  record 
the  marvellous  skill,  or  good  luck,  of  the  Doctor, 
as  he  killed  a  whole  flock  of  four  wild  geese  at 
one  shot ;  and,  what  was  still  better,  we  got  out 
our  baidarka,  and  took  them  all  aboard. 

Still  creeping  along  with  the  same  dull  winds 
and  disagreeable  weather,  on  the  3d  of  Septem- 
ber we  found  ourselves  in  latitude  52°  north,  and 
longitude  170°  east,  which  placed  us  a  considera- 
ble distance  southwest  of  Atter.  We  began  to 
entertain  fears  lest  we  should  not  reach  the  port 
of  our  destination  in  season ;  but  on  the  6th,  for 
the  first  time  since  leaving  Oonalashka,  we  took 
a  strong  northeast  gale,  which  carried  us  into  the 
vicinity  of  the  Kurile  Islands.  Our  hopes  began 
to  revive,  and  the  prospect  of  reaching  Ochotsk 
to  brighten;  but  again  were  we  doomed  to  dis- 
appointment. A  severe  blow  from  the  southeast 
obliged  us  to  heave  to,  with  a  heavy  sea  run- 
ning; and  we  drifted  back  over  the  course  we 
had  just  sailed,  at  the  rate  of  two  miles  an  hour. 
A  considerable  quantity  of  the  provisions  for  the 
sailors  consisted  of  whale's  blubber,  which  was 
hanging  on  our  quarter,  and  was  of  course  well 
soaked  with  oil.  This  we  found  to  be  a  great 
advantage,  for  it  made  a  "  slick  "  to  the  windward 
for  nearly  a  mile,  and  prevented  the  sea  from 
breaking  over  us. 


73 


Strong  westerly  winds  continued  to  baffle  us 
until  the  14th,  when,  having  no  hope  of  reaching 
Ochotsk  before  the  autumn  was  so  far  spent  that 
we  should  be  obliged  to  make  a  winter's  journey 
across  Siberia,  we  concluded  to  alter  our  course, 
and  sail  for  the  harbor  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul, 
or  Petropowlowsk,  in  Kamtchatka.  We  made 
port  on  the  22d,  and  anchored  abreast  the  village. 
We  were  kindly  and  hospitably  received  by  the 
Company's  Superintendent,  as  well  as  by  the 
officers  of  the  military  department,  and  especially 
by  Major  Antony  Ivanah  and  lady,  who  showed 
me  many  civilities.  Madam  Lariwanoff  and 
daughter  were  taken  in  charge  by  the  Superin- 
tendent, and  provided  with  comfortable  quarters. 
The  Doctor  and  myself  at  once  took  temporary 
lodgings  on  the  shore,  until  we  could  make  per- 
manent arrangements  for  the  winter.  Having 
discharged  all  the  cargo,  and  dismantled  our  lit- 
tle craft,  we  hauled  her  up  on  the  beach  at  the 
first  spring  tide.  Provisions  and  accommodations 
were  provided  at  the  settlement  for  the  crew  as 
well  as  ourselves ;  and  in  fact  the  people  seemed 
desirous  to  do  everything  in  their  power  to 
render  our  stay  amongst  them  as  comfortable 
and  agreeable  as  the  nature  of  the  place  would 
admit. 

10 


VI. 


SETTLED   FOR  ANOTHER  WINTER.  —  ARRIVAL  OF  OLD  FRIENDS.  —  DOGS 
AND  SLEDGING.  —  A  RUSSIAN  CHRISTENING. 

DETAINED  for  another  winter,  we  endeavored 
at  once  to  make  the  acquaintance  of  the  in- 
habitants of  the  village,  and  to  become  familiar 
with  the  country  in  its  vicinity.  We  were  in- 
troduced to  all  the  people  of  note,  and  kindly 
entertained  by  them.  We  made  pedestrian  ex- 
cursions for  several  miles  in  every  direction,  and 
visited  all  the  common  places  of  resort.  The 
scenery  was  picturesque,  and  the  view  from  the 
elevations  was  beautiful  and  grand.  The  Awats- 
ka  Bay,  or  outer  harbor,  as  it  is  called,  is  com- 
pletely land-locked,  and  at  the  same  time  so 
extensive,  that  a  thousand  ships  might  ride  at 
anchor  in  it  with  safety.  The  distant  mountains, 
and  particularly  the  high  peak  Awatska,  add 
greatly  to  the  landscape.  The  latter  presents 
the  imposing  spectacle  of  a  volcano  in  full  blast, 
always  overhung  with  a  cloud  of  smoke,  and 
constantly  belching  fire  and  lava. 


75 


We  had  only  one  source  of  annoyance  at  the 
village  during  the  early  part  of  our  stay,  and 
we  soon  became  well  used  to  that.  I  refer  to 
the  barking  of  the  numerous  dogs,  though  it  can 
scarcely  be  called  barking,  for  they  howl  like 
a  wolf.  At  sunset  regularly  they  would  begin 
their  serenade  at  one  end  of  the  settlement,  — 
which,  by  the  way,  extended  all  round  the  har- 
bor, —  and  in  the  course  of  half  an  hour  all  the 
voices  would  join  in  the  chorus,  and  keep  it 
up  all  night  long.  With  this  single  temporary 
drawback,  we  passed  our  time  very  pleasantly 
until  the  first  of  November.  By  then  we  had 
visited  on  foot  all  the  places  in  the  more  im- 
mediate neighborhood,  and  we  concluded  to  make 
a  short  boat  excursion  to  a  small  river  named 
Paratunka,  to  see  some  warm  springs  situated 
several  miles  from  its  mouth.  This  spring  issues 
from  the  ground  in  a  boiling  state,  and  spreads 
out  over  a  basin  excavated  for  its  reception.  It 
forms  an  excellent  bathing-place,  being  of  suit- 
able depth,  with  a  sandy  bottom,  and  the  bather 
can  choose  any  degree  of  warmth  he  pleases. 
The  water  is  impregnated  with  sulphur  and  other 
minerals.  We  found  here  some  Eussian  invalids 
who  had  come  to  enjoy  the  use  of  the  spring. 
All  the  rivers  in  the  neighborhood  abounded 


76 


in  salmon,  though  it  was  so  late  in  the  season ; 
and  we  protracted  our  stay  for  a  day  or  two, 
hunting  and  fishing,  and  boiling  our  game  in 
the  hot  water  of  the  spring. 

On  our  return  to  the  village  we  were  surprised 
to  find  one  of  our  old  Norfolk  Sound  friends, 
Lieutenant  Davidoff,  who  had  arrived  at  the 
harbor  in  command  of  the  little  new  vessel  built 
at  Sitcha,  and  called  the  Awos.  He  had  left 
the  Sound  in  August,  accompanied  by  the  Juno, 
under  the  command  of  Lieutenant  Schwostofi^ 
and  having  Baron  von  Kesanoff  on  board  to 
be  carried  to  Ochotsk.  He  had  parted  with 
them  off  the  Kurile  Islands.  About  the  middle 
of  November  Lieutenant  Schwostoff  made  his 
appearance  with  the  Juno.  After  landing  his 
Excellency  about  Ochotsk,  he  received  orders  to 
proceed  to  one  of  the  southernmost  of  the  Kurile 
Islands,  and  break  up  a  Japanese  settlement  re- 
ported to  have  been  established  there.  He  found 
at  the  place  four  Japanese,  with  a  large  stock  of 
goods  for  trade  with  the  islanders,  consisting  of 
rice,  tobacco,  fish-nets,  lacquered  ware,  salt,  cot- 
ton, silk,  and  many  other  articles ;  all  of  which 
he  seized  without  opposition,  and  brought  Japan- 
ese, goods,  and  all  to  Kamtchatka.  Thus  we  met 
our  old  friends  in  a  very  unexpected  manner. 


77 


As  we  were  doomejl  to  pass  another  winter  in 
this  region,  their  company  was  very  pleasant, 
and  to  have  the  Juno  in  sight  again  was  espe- 
cially agreeable  to  me. 

I  now  took  lodgings  in  a  shanty  owned  and 
occupied  by  a  very  clever  old  man,  named  Andra, 
and  his  wife  and  little  boy.  I  called  him  in  a 
familiar  way  Starruk,  that  is  old  man,  and  his 
wife  Starruke,  old  woman.  He  was  quite  thrifty 
for  the  place,  and  was  one  of  the  few  in  the  vil- 
lage who  owned  and  kept  a  cow.  This  was  a 
fortunate  circumstance,  for  good  milk  was  a  rarity 
in  that  section.  His  shanty  was  warm  and  com- 
fortable, and  was  divided  into  three  apartments. 
In  one  corner  of  the  largest  they  made  a  bunk 
for  me,  and  curtained  it  round.  My  man  Parker 
slept  in  the  same  room  on  a  movable  bed.  In 
the  next  room,  which  was  the  cooking-room, 
there  was  a  large  brick  oven,  or  furnace,  and 
on  the  top  of  this  slept  Starruk,  his  wife,  and 
little  boy.  The  third  apartment  was  devoted  to 
the  cow  and  her  fodder.  At  this  place  I  took  my 
meals  at  night  and  morning,  but  dined  by  gen- 
eral invitation  at  the  Company's  table,  at  the 
house  of  the  Superintendent.  Comfortably  set- 
tled in  my  new  quarters,  I  prepared  for  a  long 
winter's  siege. 


78 


It  was  necessary  to  be  provided  with  a  set  of 
good  dogs  and  a  sledge.  With  the  assistance  of 
Starruk  I  was  soon  possessed  of  five  of  the  best 
animals  of  the  kind,  and  had  them  tied  up  near 
the  house,  that  they  might  get  accustomed  to 
me,  and  be  ready  for  use.  In  the  spring  of  the 
year  the  dogs  are  turned  loose,  and  left  to  pro- 
vide for  themselves,  in  the  best  way  they  can. 
Hence  they  are  great  thieves  until  the  herring 
season  comes,  when  they  have  an  abundant  sup- 
ply of  food,  which  they  go  into  the  water  and 
catch  for  themselves,  until  they  become  very  fat, 
and  unfit  for  use.  At  that  season,  too,  great  quan- 
tities of  the  herring  are  caught  by  the  owners 
of  the  dogs,  and  split  and  dried  in  the  sun,  to 
feed  them  in  the  winter,  when  they  give  them 
nothing  else. 

I  also  purchased  a  first-rate  sledge,  at  once 
light  and  handsome,  fur  garments,  Kamtchatka 
boots,  bear-skin,  and  everything  needed  to  make 
my  equipage  complete ;  and,  now  fully  prepared, 
I  waited  impatiently  for  the  snow.  There  had 
been  already  several  squalls,  but  about  the  last 
of  November  the  ground  was  well  covered  and 
the  winter  set  in.  My  dogs  were  in  good  trav- 
elling condition,  and  I  now  made  my  first  essay, 
with  three  of  them  to  begin  with.  The  style  in 


79 


which  they  tumbled  me  about  in  the  snow  was 
"  a  caution/'  as  Paddy  says,  and  furnished  great 
amusement  to  the  villagers.  But  I  persevered, 
with  a  determination  to  make  myself  master 
of  the  business,  and  at  the  end  of  a  week  was 
quite  an  adroit  performer.  The  sledges  were 
so  constructed,  that  it  required  nearly  as  much 
skill  and  practice  to  keep  in  equilibrium  as  in 
skating ;  but  when  well  understood,  they  afforded 
a  most  splendid  recreation  and  agreeable  exercise. 
Being  soon  able  to  harness  and  manage  my  five 
dogs  with  dexterity,  we  used  frequently  to  make 
a  party,  consisting  of  Langsdorff,  Schwostoff,  Da- 
vidofF,  and  Miasnikoff,  and  go  out  on  excursions 
to  the  neighboring  villages,  from  ten  to  twenty 
miles  distant.  When  the  weather  was  unfavor- 
able, we  had  balls  and  parties ;  and  in  this  way 
the  weeks  and  months  of  the  long  winter  passed 
off  quite  cheerfully. 

About  the  1st  of  January,  1807,  the  Governor- 
General,  Koscheleff,  who  resides  at  Nischney, 
which  is  the  capital  of  Kamtchatka,  made  his 
annual  visit  of  inspection  to  all  the  military  posts 
on  the  peninsula.  His  entrance  into  Petropow- 
lowsk  with  a  long  handsome  sledge,  a  Kamtcha- 
dale  on  each  side,  as  conductors,  and  a  string  of 
twenty  dogs,  was  quite  a  new  and  pleasing  sight 


80 


to  me.  During  his  stay  of  five  days,  we  had 
royal  feastings  and  visitings ;  and  when  he  left, 
half  the  village  accompanied  him  to  the  distance 
of  ten  or  fifteen  miles,  myself  among  the  num- 
ber. We  made  a  string  nearly  a  mile  long. 

The  sledging  in  Kamtchatka  is  not  without 
some  adverse  casualties  to  the  best  of  managers. 
One  occurred  to  me  which  I  will  narrate.  I  was 
coming  from  Melka,  an  interior  village,  with  a 
load  of  frozen  salmon,  in  company  with  my  land- 
lord, Starruk,  and,  my  dogs  being  better  than  his, 
I  got  several  miles  ahead  of  him.  The  snow  was 
deep,  but  the  top  was  crusted,  and  the  under- 
brush all  covered.  The  surface  was  perfectly 
smooth,  but  interrupted  by  numerous  large  trees ; 
and  to  avoid  them  our  track  was  serpentine.  At 
last  we  came  to  an  inclined  plane  of  a  mile  or  so 
in  length,  and,  my  sledge  being  heavily  laden,  it 
became  necessary  for  me  to  be  constantly  on  my 
guard,  and  keep  a  sharp  lookout.  Accordingly 
I  took  the  usual  preliminary  precaution  in  such 
cases,  of  sitting  sideways,  with  the  left  hand  hold 
of  the  fore  part,  left  foot  on  the  runner,  and  my 
right  leg  extended ;  my  foot,  slipping  over  the 
snow,  operated  as  a  sort  of  an  outrigger.  The 
dogs  at  the  same  time,  fearful  lest  the  sledge 
should  run  on  to  them,  went  down  the  declivity 


81 


like  lightning.  The  trees  seemed  to  grow  thicker 
and  thicker,  and  to  avoid  them  it  soon  became 
hard  up  and  hard  down  with  me.  At  last,  coming 
to  a  sharp  curve  to  the  right,  the  sledge,  sheering 
to  the  other  side,  struck  with  such  force  as  to 
scatter  my  whole  establishment,  and  I  received 
such  a  blow  on  the  head  that  it  stunned  me,  and 
laid  me  out  on  the  snow  unconscious.  When 
I  came  to  a  little,  and  looked  up,  I  saw  my  sledge 
was  partly  a  wreck,  four  of  my  dogs  had  broken 
from  their  harness  and  gone  on,  while  one,  left 
fast  in  his  gear,  was  sitting  on  his  haunches,  and 
watching  me  with  wonder,  as  much  as  if  to  say, 
"  How  came  you  here  ?  "  It  was  not  long  before 
Starruk  came  up.  He  asked  me  what  was  the 
matter.  I  replied,  that  some  one  in  passing  had 
run  foul  of  me.  "  No,"  said  he,  "  I  guess  you  run 
foul  of  that  tree  "  ;  which,  on  collecting  my  scat- 
tered thoughts,  I  found  to  be  the  fact.  But  as 
there  were  no  bones  broken,  I  brightened  up, 
and,  with  the  old  man's  assistance,  caught  my 
dogs  again,  repaired  damages,  and  pursued  my 
journey,  not  a  little  worse  for  my  tumble. 

I   will  mention   another    circumstance   which 
occurred  to  me,  —  not  that  there  was  anything 
extraordinary  in  it,  but  merely  to  show  the  sa- 
gacity of  dogs,  and  the  convenience  of  travelling 
11 


82 


with  them.     I  was  coming  from  a  village  about 
ten  miles  distant.     It  was  dusk  when  I  started, 
and  night  soon  closed  in  with  Egyptian  darkness 
and  an  arctic  snow-storm.     I  could  not  see  even 
my  dogs.     The  new  snow  soon  covered  and  oblit- 
erated  the   old  track.      It  was  difficult  to  tell 
whether  I   was   going   ahead   or   standing  still, 
without  putting  my  foot  through  the  new-fallen 
snow  down  to  the  old  crust.     In  this  way  I  went 
on  for  an  hour  or  so,  the  dogs  making  very  slow 
progress,  and  very  hard  work  of  it.     Not  being 
able  to  see  anything,  I  somehow  or  other  be- 
came persuaded  that  the  dogs  had  inclined  to 
the  left  of  the  beaten  track,  and  consequently  I 
kept  urging  them  to  the  right.     Thus  I  went  on 
for  some  time,  until  I  found  myself  in  a  forest  of 
large  trees,  and  had  much  difficulty  in  keeping 
clear  of  them.     At  last  I  became  decidedly  be- 
wildered, but  convinced  that  I  had  lost  my  way. 
Not  knowing  whither  I  was  going,  and  fearing 
that  I  might  wander,  the  Lord  knew  where,  dur- 
ing the  long  night,  I  concluded  to  halt,  and  make 
my  dogs  fast  to  a  tree.     I  then  sat  awhile  on  my 
sledge,  and  listened,  to  see  if  I  could  hear  any- 
body, and  finally  prepared  my  bear-skin  and  fur 
garments  for  a  night's  bivouac.     I  had  not  lain 
more  than  an  hour  before  I  heard  the  howling  of 


83 


dogs ;  my  own  immediately  answered  them.  I 
found  they  were  approaching,  and  when  I  judged 
them  to  be  within  hailing  distance,  I  called  out. 
A  man  called  out  in  return,  and  soon  drove  up. 
It  was  a  Kamtchadale  coming  from  Petropow- 
lowsk.  It  appeared  that  I  had  urged  the  dogs 
a  considerable  distance  from  the  proper  track, 
which,  with  the  new-comer's  assistance,  I  regained. 
He  told  me  not  to  attempt  to  guide  the  dogs,  but 
to  let  them  pick  their  own  way.  I  accordingly 
sat  on  my  sledge  for  an  hour  or  so,  scarcely  real- 
izing that  I  was  moving,  till  at  last  I  turned  my 
eyes  up,  and  found  myself  right  under  the  light 
of  my  own  window. 

These  little  mishaps  occurred  while  I  was  yet 
a  novice  in  the  art  of  sledging ;  but  I  soon  be- 
came acquainted  with  the  habits  and  dispositions 
of  my  dogs,  and  they  became  accustomed  to  me, 
so  that  I  travelled  fearlessly,  alone  or  in  com- 
pany, and  made  excursions  to  all  the  villages  in 
the  southern  part  of  the  peninsula  within  a  hun- 
dred miles  of  Petropowlowsk.  While  I  was  amus- 
ing myself  in  the  southern,  the  Doctor  was  trav- 
ersing the  northern  part  of  Kamtchatka  all  by 
himself,  and  collecting  specimens  of  natural  his- 
tory. 

I  was  always  an  admirer  of  the  rigid  adherence 


84 


of  the  Russians  to  their  religious  forms  and  cere- 
monies.    I   never   saw  a  Russian,  high'  or  low, 
who  did  not,  both  before  and  after  eating,  ask  a 
blessing,  and  give  thanks  to  God  for  his  bounty, 
apparently  with   a  sincere  and   thankful  heart. 
Yet  there  are  some  things  very  absurd  in  their 
ceremonies.     For  instance,  I  was  invited  to  the 
christening  of  a  child  at  the  house  of  the  Super- 
intendent, and  requested  to  stand  as  godfather 
with  Dr.  LangsdorfF,  as  it  was  necessary,  I  was 
told,  to  have  two  godfathers  and  two  godmothers. 
At  the  appointed  time  we  repaired  to  the  house, 
where  we  found  the  pope  and  numerous  guests 
already  assembled.     The  pope  had  brought  with 
him  a  small  box,  resembling   a  tea-caddy,  con- 
taining, as  was  said,  consecrated  oil.     A  large  tub 
full  of  water  was  placed   in  the  centre  of  the 
room,  and  the  pope's  apparatus   near  at  hand. 
He  then  commenced  the  operation  with  prayers, 
after  which,  he  took  the  child  in  his  arms  and 
plunged  it  under  the  water.     Then,  with  a  small 
brush  and  some  oil  from  the  box,  he  crossed  the 
child  all  over  its  body  and  legs,  and  afterwards 
marched  round  the  tub,  and  we,  the  godfathers 
and   godmothers,  followed,  in  Indian  file,  three 
times  round.     The  child  was  then  given  to  one 
of  the  godfathers,  crossed  again,  and  round  the 


85 


tub  we  went  three  times  more.  And  so  it  con- 
tinued until  we  all  had  taken  our  turns,  and 
made  fifteen  circuits  of  the  tub.  Now  I  thought 
this,  or  the  greater  part  of  it,  a  nonsensical  cer- 
emony, and  a  piece  of  rigmarole ;  but  it  was  not 
my  part  to  find  fault  or  object  to  it,  and  I  will- 
ingly conformed  to  the  custom. 

When  it  was  over,  the  tub  taken  away,  and  a 
table  put  in  its  place,  madam,  the  mother  of  the 
child,  brought  on  the  goodies,  pies  of  flesh  and 
pies  of  fish,  cakes  of  various  kinds,  preserved 
berries,  and  many  other  things ;  but  what  as- 
tounded me  most  was  that  a  bottle  of  real  ardent 
spirits  found  its  way  to  the  table  on  this  extra 
occasion,  an  article  which  had  disappeared  from 
among  our  stores  several  months  previous.  The 
pope  paid  his  respects  to  it  with  peculiar  unction, 
and  a  glowing  countenance,  and  the  rest  of  us 
were  not  slow  in  following  suit.  This  was  one 
of  the  friendly  gatherings  to  which  I  made  it  a 
point  never  to  refuse  an  invitation ;  and  I  found 
the  Kussians  were  very  fond  of  celebrating  birth- 
days, christenings,  and  as  many  holidays  as  they 
could  make  an  excuse  for. 


VII. 

VOYAGE  TO  OCHOTSK.  —  JOURNEY  FROM  OCHOTSK  TO  YAKUTSK. 

ABOUT  the  last  of  March  the  snow  began  to 
disappear  rapidly,  and  by  the  middle  of  April 
the  ground  was  so  bare  that  our  sledging  par- 
ties were  abandoned.  The  ice  had  left  the 
bay,  and  all  hands  were  at  work,  under  the 
directions  of  Lieut.  Schwostoff  and  Davidofi^ 
sawing  and  breaking  up  the  ice  in  the  inner 
harbor,  in  order  to  extricate  the  Juno  and 
Awos,  which  had  been  preparing  to  sail  for 
some  time.  By  the  25th  the  channel  was 
cleared,  and  the  two  vessels  put  to  sea,  with 
the  four  Japanese  who  had  passed  the  winter 
with  us.  Their  destination  was  the  northern 
Japanese  Islands,  where  they  intended  to  land 
their  passengers,  and  make  some  further  at- 
tempts to  establish  an  intercourse  with  the 
people. 

By  this  movement  I  was  prompted  to  get 
my  little  craft  afloat  and  prepare  for  the  re- 


87 


mainder  of  my  voyage.     I  was  admonished,  by 
those  acquainted  with  the  breaking  up  of  the 
ice  in  the  rivers   at  the   head  of  the  Ochotsk 
Sea,    not   to    be    in    a    hurry;     but    my   anx- 
iety to  be  off  rendered  me  deaf  to  all  remon- 
strances ;  and  on  the  22d  of  May  I  was  ready. 
At  this   point  I    was    beset    by   a    number   of 
persons,  both  male  and  female,  for  a  passage  to 
Ochotsk.     I  concluded  to  take  five  in  addition 
to  Madam    Lariwanoff  and    daughter,  viz.    one 
elderly    widow    woman,    one    old    woman    and 
her  daughter,  one  very  respectable  young  man 
in  the   Company's  service,  and  one  other   gen- 
tleman.     Our    party   now   numbered    eighteen. 
We  were  tolerably  well  equipped,  and  had  an 
abundant    supply    of    such    provisions    as    the 
place  afforded.      When  our  arrangements  were 
all    completed,   Doctor  Langsdorff  and    myself 
devoted   a   day   to   taking  leave   of  the   many 
friends    who    had    entertained    us    during    the 
winter;    and  I  particularly  of  my  old  landlord 
and  landlady,   Starruk   and   Starruke.      To   the 
former  I  paid  what  he  thought  a  very  liberal 
compensation    for    the    apartment  I  had   occu- 
pied at  his  house.     I  also  made  him  a  present 
of  my  sledge,  its  equipage,  and  my  dogs,  with 
the  exception  of  one,  which  I   took  with  me. 


88 


To  Starruke  I  gave  my  bedding,  curtains,  and 
furniture.  I  then  bade  good  by  to  these  warm- 
hearted people,  and  left  them  with  their  warm- 
est prayers  for  a  prosperous  voyage.  Our  pas- 
sengers now  came  on  board,  and,  after  making 
the  best  accommodations  for  them  our  contracted 
quarters  would  admit,  on  the  26th,  with  fair 
weather,  we  bade  adieu  to  Petropowlowsk,  and 
weighed  anchor. 

Favorable  winds  continued  just  long  enough 
to  give  us  a  good  offing,  when  they  became 
light  and  adverse,  with  calms,  and  so  continued 
for  several  days.  On  the  30th,  having  just 
taken  a  brisk  breeze,  which  was  driving  us 
along,  for  a  wonder,  at  nearly  five  knots,  we 
ran  into  a  large  whale  which  was  lying  near 
the  surface.  We  somehow  slid  up  on  his  back 
so  as  to  raise  our  little  vessel  two  or  three 
feet  and  throw  her  over  on  her  side  four  or 
five  streaks.  It  was  like  striking  a  rock,  and 
brought  us  to  a  complete  stand-still.  The 
monster  soon  showed  himself,  gave  a  spout, 
66  kicked  "  his  flukes  and  went  down.  He  did  not 
appear  to  be  hurt,  nor  were  we  hurt,  but  most 
confoundedly  frightened.  I  sounded  the  pump 
immediately,  and  found  that  all  was  safe  as  to 
leakage,  and  we  continued  on  our  course  quite 
satisfied  with  the  result. 


89 


June  3d,  we  passed  through  between  the  second 
and  third  Kurile  Islands  from  the  southern  part 
of  Kamtchatka,  and  entered  the  Sea  of  Ochotsk. 
Here  again  we  were  annoyed  by  the  calms, 
which  continued  with  but  little  variance  until 
the  14th,  when  we  had  reached  latitude  58°. 
We  now  began  to  meet  ice,  at  first  so  scattered 
that  we  thought  it  possible  to  push  through  it ; 
but  after  working  in  amongst  it  for  a  few  hours, 
it  became  so  compact  as  to  be  impassable,  and 
extended  east,  west,  and  north  as  far  as  the  eye 
could  reach,  even  from  the  masthead  a  solid 
mass.  Finding  it  impossible  to  proceed  any  far- 
ther, and  as  the  ice  was  closing  rapidly  around 
us,  I  deemed  it  advisable  to  avail  myself  of  that 
better  part  of  valor,  discretion,  and  pole  out  as 
we  had  poled  in ;  for  I  had  soon  discovered  that 
our  little  craft  was  too  slight  to  deal  freely  with 
heavy  ice.  Having  gained  the  open  water,  I 
steered  to  the  eastward  all  day  without  finding 
any  passage-way.  The  wind  proving  unfavorable 
for  sailing  in  that  direction,  we  turned  and  went 
westward.  Thus  we  continued  for  ten  days, 
making  various  attempts  to  get  clear  of  the  ice, 
and  at  last  succeeded.  On  the  26th,  at  merid- 
ian, we  found  our  latitude  59°  20',  and  the  land 
was  in  sight.  On  the  27th,  we  anchored  off  the 

12 


90 


mouth  of  the  river  Ochota.  At  2  P.  M.,  the  tide 
turned,  and  we  crossed  the  bar,  entered  the  har- 
bor of  Ochotsk,  and  made  fast  to  the  Company's 
wharf.  Thus  terminated  a  long  and  tedious  pas- 
sage of  thirty-three  days. 

We  were  told  here  that  the  ice  had  only  left 
the  rivers  and  bays  four  or  five  days.  We  were 
likewise  informed,  to  our  great  grief,  that  his 
Excellency  Baron  von  Eesanoff  had  died  at 
Krasnojarsk  in  Siberia,  on  his  route  to  St.  Peters- 
burg. He  had  fallen  from  his  horse  on  the  road 
from  Ochotsk  to  Yakutsk,  which  was  supposed 
to  be  the  cause  of  his  death.  The  passport  and 
letters  I  had  previously  received  from  his  Excel- 
lency at  once  made  me  acquainted  with  the 
Company's  Superintendent,  Mr.  Petroff;  like- 
wise with  the  commandant  of  the  port,  Captain 
Bucharin.  By  both  these  gentlemen  I  was 
treated  with  the  utmost  kindness  and  civility  ; 
and,  knowing  my  desire  to  be  on  my  way  to 
St.  Petersburg,  they  were  both  anxious  to  afford 
me  every  facility  in  their  power.  A  taboo  was 
immediately  put  upon  a  sufficient  number  of 
the  first  horses  that  arrived  from  Yakutsk. 
With  the  greatest  possible  despatch,  it  was 
necessary  to  wait  a  few  days,  and  in  the  mean 
time  I  was  taken  round  the  place  to  see  the 


91 


lions.  They  did  not  amount  to  much.  The 
town  was  situated  on  a  sand  spit,  washed  by 
the  sea  on  one  side  and  the  river  Ochota  on 
the  other.  The  river  Kuchtin  unites  with  the 
Ochota  near  the  harbor's  mouth,  which,  at  the 
best,  is  an  indifferent  one,  and  not  accessible  to 
vessels  drawing  more  than  eight  feet  of  water. 
The  town  is  joined  to  the  mainland  by  a  narrow 
neck  of  marshy  ground,  which  is  often  inun- 
dated. In  fact,  it  appeared  to  me  that  any  extra 
rise  of  the  river  or  sea  would  swamp  the  whole 
place.  Some  ship-building  was  going  on  here, 
and  many  convicts  were  employed  in  the  gov- 
ernment service. 

For  my  convenience,  the  privilege  was  ac- 
corded to  me  by  the  Company  of  selecting  a 
Kussian  subject  to  accompany  me  on  my  road, 
as  a  kind  of  an  assistant.  A  young  man  by 
the  name  of  Kutsnetsoff,  or  Smith,  was  pointed 
out  as  one  desirous  of  going  with  me,  but  the 
Superintendent  did  not  feel  authorized  to  re- 
lease him  from  the  service,  unless  I  should  think 
proper  to  select  him,  and  I  accordingly  did  so. 
He  had  been  ten  years  at  the  settlements  on 
the  Aleutian  Islands,  and  was  anxious  to  return 
to  Irkutsk,  his  native  place.  He  had  a  brother 
in  Moscow,  a  merchant  of  high  standing,  who 


92 


was  at    the    head    of   the  Company's    establish- 
ment there. 

On  the  morning  of  July  3d,  my  horses,  eleven 
in  number,  were  brought  out.  They  did  not 
look  very  promising,  as  they  had  been  over- 
worked on  the  route  hither.  This  was  rather 
discouraging,  for  it  was  important  that  they 
should  be  in  a  good  condition  for  a  journey  of 
500  miles,  through  a  country  with  no  signs  of 
a  settlement  except  a  few  log  shanties  at  great 
distances  asunder,  and  no  road  but  a  serpentine 
footpath ;  moreover,  we  had  a  fair  amount  of 
luggage,  and  for  comfort  and  convenience  we 
were  obliged  to  carry  a  tent,  cooking-utensils, 
and  bear-skins,  &c.  for  bedding.  Bad  as  they 
were,  these  horses  were  better  than  none,  and 
I  must  make  the  best  of  them. 

Having  completed  my  preparations,  I  took 
leave  of  my  highly  esteemed  friend,  Dr.  Langs- 
dorff,  who  intended  to  remain  a  week  or  so  for 
the  promotion  of  his  favorite  object ;  also  of 
Madam  Lariwanoff  and  her  daughter,  my  other 
passengers,  and  sailors, — particularly  of  the  three 
Alashka  Indians,  who  had  proved  themselves 
excellent  men,  and  rendered  me  good  service. 
They  fell  upon  their  knees  and  entreated  me  to 
take  them  with  me.  As  this  was  impracticable, 


93 


I  could  only  make  them  a  gratuity  in  rubles, 
and  recommend  them  to  the  kindness  of  Mr. 
Petroff,  in  whose  employ  and  charge  they  were. 
Having  finished  our  leave-takings,  we  mounted 
our  horses.  There  were  five  of  us,  —  myself 
and  two  aids,  Parker  and  KutsnetsofF,  and  two 
Yakutas,  the  owners  of  the  horses,  and  acting 
as  guides.  Three  of  the  other  six  horses  car- 
ried our  luggage,  and  the  remaining  three  were 
kept  in  reserve  for  a  change  on  the  road.  Dr. 
Langsdorfi^  the  Superintendent,  Captain  Bucha- 
rin,  and  other  friends,  accompanied  us  to  the 
outskirts  of  the  town  to  take  another  and  a 
final  farewell,  and  we  then  put  spurs  to  our 
horses,  and  struck  into  the  woods.  We  went  on 
at  quite  a  spirited  pace  until  five  o'clock,  when 
we  arrived  at  a  small  clearing  called  Medwe- 
scha  Golowa,  or  Bear's  Head,  where  there  were 
a  few  huts.  Here  we  dismounted  to  lunch,  and 
rest  our  horses  for  half  an  hour;  and  then  re- 
sumed our  journey.  At  seven  in  the  evening 
we  pitched  our  tent,  and  camped  for  the  night, 
in  a  good  place  for  our  horses  to  graze.  As 
we  carried  no  provender,  this  was  a  matter  of 
great  importance  throughout  our  whole  jour- 
ney. We  turned  our  beasts  loose,  and  the 
Yakutschians  watched  them  by  turns  through 


94 


the  night.  The  distance  we  travelled  this  day 
since  eleven  o'clock  was  45  versts.* 

Ochotsk  is  situated  in  latitude  59°  30',  and 
Yakutsk  in  about  63°.  The  direction  of  our 
course  was  west-northwest  and  the  distance  in 
a  bee-line  500  miles;  but  by  reason  of  the 
tortuous  nature  of  the  route  we  were  obliged 
to  pursue,  the  distance  was  much  increased. 
In  such  an  extent  of  wild  country  there  were 
doubtless  many  objects  that  would  have  at- 
tracted the  attention  of  the  man  of  science; 
but  being  myself  neither  naturalist,  botanist,  nor 
geologist,  I  had  no  call  to  search  to  the  right 
or  to  the  left  for  specimens.  My  business  was 
to  push  on  as  fast  as  my  horses  could  carry 
me,  having  an  especial  regard  for  my  bills  of 
exchange.  I  paid  but  little  attention  to  the 
names  of  the  numerous  small  rivers  and  moun- 
tains which  we  crossed,  merely  noticing  some  of 
the  principal.  To  me  the  country  wore  even 
a  greater  degree  of  sameness  than  other  unset- 
tled regions. 

July  4th.  We  collected  our  horses  and  struck 
our  tent  at  7  A.  M.,  mounted,  and  continued 
our  journey.  Several  large  caravans  of  horses 

*  A  verstis  212^  rods,  or,  roughly,  five  eighths  of  a  mile. 


95 


passed  us  in  the  forenoon,  laden  with  flour  and 
provisions  for  Ochotsk.  In  the  afternoon,  we 
crossed  a  ridge  of  tolerably  high  mountains,  and 
then  came  upon  swampy  ground.  At  five 
o'clock  we  reached  a  small  river ;  but  it  was  so 
deep  we  were  obliged  to  ferry  our  luggage  over 
in  a  boat,  and  swim  our  horses.  We  went  on 
until  eight  in  the  evening,  when  we  encamped. 
The  distance  travelled  this  day  was  47  versts. 

July  5th.  We  had  a  thick  fog  and  rain 
through  the  night.  It  cleared  up  in  the  morn- 
ing, and  we  mounted  at  seven,  and  continued 
our  journey  through  valleys  and  over  moun- 
tains, with  extremely  bad  travelling,  the  whole 
day.  The  weather  growing  hot,  we  were  sorely 
annoyed  by  the  mosquitos,  and  were  obliged  to 
wear  leather  gloves  and  a  kind  of  hood  in  the 
shape  of  a  sun-bonnet,  with  a  gauze  veil  to  protect 
the  face.  Our  white  horses  became  perfectly  pink 
with  the  blood  drawn  from  them  by  these  insects. 
We  pitched  our  tents  at  six  in  the  evening. 
The  distance  travelled  this  day  was  55  versts. 

July  6th.  Started  at  seven,  and  had  pleas- 
ant, but  rather  warm  weather.  In  the  course 
of  the  day  we  forded  several  small  rivers  with- 
out unpacking  our  horses,  and  passed  four  cara- 
vans with  stores  for  Ochotsk.  At  five  in  the 


96 


afternoon  we  came  to  a  small  group  of  shanties 
where  was  kept  a  magazine  of  provisions  and 
a  stud  of  horses  for  government  emergencies. 
This  place  was  190  versts  from  Ochotsk.  Taking 
tea  here,  we  proceeded  until  seven  o'clock,  and 
then  encamped  in  a  tolerably  good  grazing-place. 
The  distance  travelled  this  day  was  55  versts. 

July  7th.  Started  this  morning  at  six.  The 
travelling  was  extremely  bad,  and  the  ground 
swampy ;  the  horses  sank  in  the  mire  up  to  their 
saddle-girths.  By  noon  we  came  to  better  going. 
Passed  to-day,  beside  caravans,  several  droves 
of  cattle  on  the  way  to  Ochotsk.  Distance,  60 
versts. 

July  8th.  Fine  weather,  but  the  travelling 
very  poor  again.  At  ten  in  the  morning  arrived 
at  the  banks  of  the  river  Allacjun,  one  of  the 
largest  tributaries  of  the  Aldan.  We  ferried  our 
baggage  across,  and  swam  our  horses.  At  three 
in  the  afternoon  we  halted  and  turned  our 
beasts  out  to  graze.  Owing  to  the  uneven  and 
miry  road  they  had  passed  over,  they  were 
very  much  fatigued  and  galled.  Distance  this 
day,  40  versts. 

July  9th.  Started  at  six  in  the  morning. 
Passed  several  caravans,  and  at  five  in  the  after- 
noon met  the  government  post  for  Ochotsk.  At 


97 


nine,  pitched  our  tent  on  the  bank  of  a  small 
tributary  of  the  Allacjun.  Distance  this  day,  65 
versts. 

July  10th.  Kained  all  the  fore  part  of  the 
day.  Our  route  was  through  a  gorge  between 
high  ridges  of  mountains.  Distance  travelled, 
50  versts. 

July  llth.  The  weather  was  pleasant  and 
warm,  the  country  rugged  and  mountainous.  At 
four  in  the  afternoon  we  came  to  the  foot  of 
a  high  and  steep  mountain,  and  halted  to  make 
preparations  for  the  ascent.  Our  horses  had 
already  become  so  weak  and  travel-worn,  that 
it  was  doubtful  whether  they  would  succeed  in 
crossing  it.  My  Yakutschian  guides  lifted  their 
tails  to  ascertain  their  strength.  On  those  that 
had  limber  tails  the  weight  of  the  baggage  was 
reduced,  and  increased  on  those  that  had  stiff 
tails.  I  noticed  them  also  pulling  hair  from  the 
manes,  and  tying  it  to  the  branches  of  trees ; 
whether  this  was  done  to  invoke  the  good,  or 
propitiate  the  evil  spirits,  I  could  not  make  out. 
After  they  had  adjusted  things  to  suit  them,  we 
took  off  our  coats,  and  started,  leading  our 
beasts.  The  ground  was  so  very  springy  that 
it  was  with  great  difficulty  that  we  could  pick 
our  way.  Two  of  the  baggage  horses  mired 

13 


98 


before  we  reached  the  top,  and  we  were  obliged 
to  unload  in  order  to  extricate  them.  We  final- 
ly gained  the  summit,  —  which  after  all  was 
not  so  very  high,  —  and,  having  rested  a  little, 
descended.  Continuing  our  course  through  a 
narrow  valley,  at  6  P.  M.  we  crossed  the  river 
Allakum,  and  stopped  at  a  small  cluster  of 
shanties  on  its  left  bank.  There  was  a  ferry 
for  bipeds,  but  such  of  the  poor  horses  as  were 
able  were  obliged  to  swim.  The  stream  was 
so  rapid,  that  mine  had  a  hard  tug  to  get  across. 
Distance  this  day,  50  versts. 

It  was  necessary  to  make  a  halt  soon  for  a 
day  or  two  to  recruit,  and  this  was  a  favorable 
place.  The  government  had  a  station  and  pos- 
tilion here.  Four  of  my  horses  were  completely 
broken  down,  and  I  left  them,  and  hired  six 
fresh  ones.  We  also  replenished  our  stock  of 
provisions. 

July  14th.  Mounted  at  5  A.  M.,  and  passed 
over  a  very  high  mountain,  and  descended  into  a 
narrow,  serpentine  valley,  in  which  we  travelled 
the  better  part  of  the  day.  We  passed  several 
caravans  and  droves  of  beef  cattle.  Distance,  55 
versts. 

July  15th.  Our  route  this  day  over  boggy 
ground  again,  and  the  travelling  was  therefore 


99 


as  poor  as  ever.  Our  horses'  backs  were  very 
sore,  and  they  were  all  nearly  exhausted.  We 
pitched  our  tent  early  in  the  afternoon  at  a  good 
grazing-place,  to  give  them  a  little  rest.  Dis- 
tance, 40  versts. 

July  16th.  The  weather  this  day  was  warm 
and  pleasant,  and  road  not  so  mountainous  as  it 
had  been.  At  5  P.  M.,  one  of  our  horses  gave 
out,  and  we  left  him.  Continuing  on  until  seven, 
we  pitched  our  tent  on  the  banks  of  the  White 
River.  Distance,  50  versts. 

July  17th.  At  6  A.  M.  we  mustered  to- 
gether our  horses,  and  found  that  four  were 
missing.  We  spent  half  the  day  in  a  fruitless 
search  for  them,  and  then  concluded  that  they 
were  either  killed  or  frightened  away  by  the 
bears,  which  are  very  plentiful  in  this  region. 
We  pursued  our  journey,  much  of  the  way 
through  mud  and  water  up  to  the  saddle-girths. 
Distance,  30  versts. 

July  18th.  Struck  our  tent  at  7  A.  M.,  and 
at  nine  crossed  the  White  River.  All  the  early 
part  of  the  day,  until  within  twenty  versts  of 
the  Aldan,  we  found  the  road  very  good.  Here 
we  saw  before  us  an  extensive  morass,  to  avoid 
which  it  would  be  necessary  to  go  the  distance  of 
thirty  versts.  This  morass  was  about  a  quarter 


100 


of  a  mile  in  breadth,  and  partially  covered  with 
water,  interspersed  with  little  grass  knolls,  which 
were  soft  and  unsteady.  Disagreeable  as  the 
prospect  was,  we  concluded  to  go  straight  across. 
We  accordingly  fastened  on  the  baggage  tighter, 
stripped  off  all  our  clothes  but  shirt  and  pants, 
and  secured  them  to  the  saddles,  and  started, 
leading  our  horses,  each  one  picking  out  the 
way  for  himself.  In  about  half  an  hour  we  suc- 
ceeded in  flouncing  through  without  accident ; 
but  it  was  a  tiresome  job,  and  we  got  well  plas- 
tered with  mud.  Putting  ourselves  and  luggage 
in  order,  we  proceeded  until  10  P.  M.,  when  we 
reached  the  government  station  on  the  right 
bank  of  the  Aldan,  having  left  two  of  our  horses 
on  the  road  exhausted. 

We  had  now  reached  the  principal  station  on 
the  route,  which  was  about  two  thirds  the  dis- 
tance to  Yakutsk ;  and  I  determined  to  halt  for 
a  day  or  two  to  recruit,  after  passing  fifteen  in 
the  saddle.  At  first  I  was  quite  pleased  with 
the  idea  of  this  land  excursion,  but  I  found  in  a 
very  little  while  that  it  was  no  joke.  I  was  sore 
all  over,  from  head  to  foot.  The  clumsy  saddles 
we  rode  upon  were  anything  but  convenient. 
The  pommels  were  of  wood  and  raised  about 
six  inches,  and  in  the  hollow  between  sat  the 


101 


rider.  There  was  just  space  enough  for  an 
ordinary-sized  man ;  and  being  myself  light 
and  spare  of  person,  there  was  plenty  of  room 
for  me  to  shake  in  my  seat.  I  soon  hit  upon 
an  expedient,  however,  to  alleviate  my  suffer- 
ing. I  bolstered  up  with  pillows,  so  that  by 
the  fourth  day  my  pains  and  aches  subsid- 
ed, and  afterward  I  was  tolerably  comfortable. 
Still  the  incessant  torments  of  the  mosquitos 
and  miry  roads  were  hard  to  bear.  I  soon 
grew  sick  of  this  horse-marine  navigation,  and 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  spray  of  the 
sea  was  far  preferable  to  a  mud  bath.  We 
made  up  as  well  as  we  could  for  the  annoyance 
of  bad  roads,  bogs,  and  small  rivers,  by  taking 
reasonable  care  of  the  inner  man.  I  mentioned 
before,  that  we  took  our  cooking  apparatus  and 
provisions  with  us.  We  had  bread  and  sugar, 
and  the  tea-kettle  was  in  constant  requisition 
morning  and  evening.  Sometimes  at  the  shan- 
ties on  the  route  we  obtained  a  little  milk. 
At  noon  we  generally  had  a  substantial  lunch 
of  Bologna  sausage  or  corned  meat,  and  a  glass 
of  schnapps. 

Having  rested  and  refreshed  ourselves  suffi- 
ciently, I  made  an  arrangement  with  the  pos- 
tilion of  the  station  to  take  us  through  the 


102 


remainder  of  the  distance,  as  from  here  to  the 
banks  of  the  Lena  there  were  relays  of  horses 
at  points  twenty-five  or  thirty  versts  asunder. 

July  21st.  Being  all  ready  for  a  move,  our 
horses  were  gathered  together  at  the  river's 
side.  There  was  only  one  small  boat  belong- 
ing to  the  place,  in  which  we  made  out  to 
ferry  ourselves  and  baggage  over ;  but  the  poor 
horses  were  obliged  to  swim.  Such  was  their 
dislike  to  the  water,  that  we  were  detained 
half  a  day  trying  to  force  them  in.  At  last 
we  succeeded,  by  taking  two  of  them  by  the 
halter,  one  on  each  side  of  the  boat,  and  letting 
the  others,  five  in  number,  follow  on  their  own 
hook.  The  current  was  so  rapid  that  they 
swam  the  distance  of  two  versts,  when  the 
width  of  the  stream  at  this  point  was  only  one, 
before  they  reached  the  opposite  shore.  They 
crawled  up  on  the  bank  quite  exhausted,  and 
we  were  obliged  to  remain  awhile  for  them 
to  recover.  At  2  P.  M.  we  mounted  and 
pursued  our  journey.  At  eight  in  the  evening 
we  pitched  our  tent  at  the  first  post-station 
after  leaving  the  Aldan.  The  distance  travelled 
was  35  versts. 

July  22d.  Changed  horses  and  started  at  6 
A.  M.  The  travelling  was  much  improved,  and 


103 


at  5  P.  M.  we  came  to  the  second  stand,  on 
the  bank  of  the  Anger,  after  a  ride  of  50 
versts.  We  passed  over  this  river  in  the  usual 
manner,  and  went  on  25  versts  more  to  the 
third  station,  where  we  paused  for  the  night, 
quite  satisfied  with  our  day's  progress. 

July  23d.  At  9  A.  M.  started  with  fresh 
horses  and  continued  on  our  route.  The  trav- 
elling was  still  more  improved,  and  the  country 
generally  had  a  more  agreeable  appearance. 
The  high  mountains  had  disappeared,  and  we 
rode  over  level  prairies,  beautifully  diversified 
with  grasses  and  a  great  variety  and  profusion 
of  flowers.  Among  the  latter  the  red  pink  pre- 
dominated, the  odor  of  which  scented  the  whole 
atmosphere,  and  made  the  journey  delightful. 
At  1  P.  M.  we  changed  our  horses  at  the 
fourth  station,  and  at  six  arrived  at  the  fifth, 
where  we  passed  the  night.  Distance,  60  versts. 

July  24th.  We  had  pleasant  weather,  and 
at  7  A.  M.  started  on  our  route.  At  8  P.  M. 
we  arrived  at  the  seventh  station,  where  we 
encamped  for  the  night,  and  paid  the  pos- 
tilion 35  rubles  for  the  use  of  his  horses,  this 
being  the  last  station  to  which  he  had  authority 
to  take  us.  Distance,  60  versts. 

July  25th.       At    7    A.   M.   we   resumed   our 


104 


journey  under  the  charge  of  another  postilion. 
Our  horses,  since  leaving  the  Aldan,  had  gen- 
erally been  very  good ;  but  this  morning  I  found 
myself  on  a  splendid  animal,  of  a  cream  color, 
singularly  and  beautifully  marked.  A  dark 
brown  stripe  about  a  hand's  breadth  ran  from 
the  crupper  to  the  withers,  and  then  spread 
over  the  shoulders  in  a  broad  patch;  his  mane 
and  tail  reached  nearly  to  the  ground.  I  could 
see  that  he  was  well  groomed  and  cared  for, 
but  I  was  rather  shy  about  mounting  him  at 
first.  I  was  assured,  however,  that  he  was  well 
broken  and  gentle,  and  I  found  him  so.  He 
was  certainly  the  most  perfect  creature  of  the 
kind  I  ever  rode  or  set  eyes  on.  The  plains 
over  which  we  travelled  this  day  were  dotted 
over  with  innumerable  cattle  and  horses  graz- 
ing. At  9  P.  M.  we  arrived  at  the  tenth 
station  and  pitched  our  tent.  Distance,  75 
versts. 

July  26th.  At  7  A.  M.  we  continued  on  our 
route,  and  at  4  P.  M.  reached  the  right  bank 
of  the  river  Lena,  which  I  crossed,  and  was  kind- 
ly received  and  entertained  at  the  Company's 
establishment  at  Yakutsk.  This  town,  the  cap- 
ital of  the  province  of  the  same  name,  covers  a 
large  space  of  ground.  The  houses  were  mostly 


105 


of  logs,  but  some  were  spacious  and  tolerably 
handsome,  and  surrounded  with  large  gardens. 
The  churches  and  other  public  buildings,  with 
their  cupolas,  made  quite  a  conspicuous  and  pleas- 
ing appearance  as  we  approached  the  place,  but 
the  streets  were  irregular,  unpaved,  and  muddy. 
The  latitude  of  the  town  is  62°  30'  N. 

The  breadth  of  the  Lena  at  Yakutsk  is  about 
two  miles.  This  magnificent  river  takes  its  rise 
in  the  southern  part  of  Siberia,  in  lat.  52°.  Its 
general  course  is  northeast,  and  it  empties  into 
the  Arctic  Ocean  in  lat.  75°.  With  its  tributaries 
it  forms  the  principal  channel  for  the  discharge 
of  the  great  water-sheds  of  the  eastern  part  of 
the  empire,  and  the  thoroughfare  of  communica- 
tion with  the  provinces  of  Ochotsk,  Kamtchatka 
and  the  Aleutian  Islands.  Down  this  stream  ves- 
sels carried  the  various  articles  needed  in  those 
distant  regions,  such  as  bread-stuffs,  liquors,  and 
manufactures,  and  brought  up  in  return  the  furs 
and  other  commodities  which  found  a  ready  mar- 
ket in  China  and  Kussia. 


14 


VIII. 

YAKUTSK.  —  DIFFERENT  MODES   OF    TRAVELLING.  —  VOYAGE   UP   THE 
LENA.  —  I  ARRIVE  AT  IRKUTSK. 

I  DETERMINED  to  remain  at  Yakutsk  a  few  days, 
to  look  around  and  ascertain  the  best  mode  of 
proceeding  up  the  river  to  Irkutsk.  The  dis- 
tance in  a  straight  line  was  about  1500  miles, 
but  by  following  the  stream  it  would  be  much 
increased.  There  were  post-stations  the  whole 
way,  mostly  on  the  left  bank,  and  at  intervals  of 
twenty  or  thirty  versts.  At  these  horses  were 
kept  by  the  government,  and  one  mode  of  making 
the  proposed  journey  was  in  a  small  open  boat, 
which  was  towed  by  them  after  the  manner  of 
a  canal-boat,  except  that  passengers  changed 
boats  at  every  station.  Another  mode,  and  that 
which  I  decided  to  adopt,  was  to  hire  a  larger 
craft,  with  mast  and  sails,  and  perform  the  whole 
distance  without  changing ;  but  I  was  to  have 
the  privilege  of  receiving  assistance  from  the 
horses  whenever  necessary,  and  for  this  purpose 
I  obtained  an  order  from  the  government  called 
a  deroshner  or  poderoshner. 


107 


As  soon  as  I  had  come  to  this  conclusion,  I 
commenced  a  search  for  a  suitable  boat,  and  at 
the  same  time  I  took  the  opportunity  to  look 
round  the  town.  Accompanied  by  one  of  the 
gentlemen  of  the  establishment,  who  devoted 
himself  to  my  service,  I  visited  all  the  public 
places,  including  the  monastery,  churches,  and 
forts.  I  also  called  on  several  families,  and  was 
introduced  as  an  American  captain.  Some  of 
them  were  very  inquisitive,  and  anxious  to  know 
where  America  was.  It  was  a  mystery  to  them 
how  I  got  there,  if  I  did  not  come  by  the  way  of 
St.  Petersburg  and  Moscow.  I  explained  as  well 
as  I  could  without  an  interpreter,  but  after  all 
they  appeared  to  be  rather  sceptical.  The  Com- 
mandant, a  cheerful  and  clever  old  man,  was  very 
kind  and  obliging,  and  we  exchanged  several  visits. 
He  asked  for  information  with  regard  to  our  gov- 
ernment and  constitution,  which  I  explained  as 
well  as  I  could ;  and  as  he  understood  no  English 
and  I  very  little  Euss,  it  is  quite  possible  I  was 
taken  for  a  very  knowing  chap.  When  I  made 
a  call  at  any  one's  house,  no  matter  what  time 
of  day  it  was,  if  I  stayed  long  enough  for  the  tea- 
kettle to  boil  (which,  by  the  by,  was  almost  al- 
ways kept  boiling),  I  was  asked  to  take  a  cup  of 
tea,  and  it  was  considered  almost  an  insult  to 


108 


refuse.  The  second  cup  was  usually  laced  with 
a  little  ardent  spirits.  This  tea-drinking  I  found 
to  be  the  universal  custom  in  Siberia. 

The  sables  collected  in  the  vicinity  of  Yakutsk 
are  the  finest  and  most  beautiful  in  the  world, 
and  command  a  much  higher  price  than  those 
from  Kamtchatka.  As  I  had  already  collected 
a  few  skins  as  specimens,  in  my  travels,  I  re- 
quested the  Superintendent  of  the  Company's 
establishment  to  supply  me  with  a  pair  of  the 
very  best  this  district  produced,  and  he  kindly 
complied.  They  were  certainly  of  great  beauty, 
very  dark-colored  and  shiny,  with  very  long  and 
thick-set  fur. 

I  found  a  boat  in  a  few  days,  belonging  to  a 
couple  of  itinerant  merchants,  who  had  come 
down  in  her  from  the  head-waters  of  the  river, 
which  I  thought  would  answer  my  purpose.  It 
was  quite  a  nice  boat,  of  about  twenty  feet  in 
length ;  a  little  aft  the  centre  there  was  a  small 
round-house,  with  a  sleeping-berth  on  each  side. 
It  had  a  keel,  but  was  of  light  draft.  The  mast 
carried  one  large  square  sail ;  and  we  could  row 
with  two  oars  forward  and  two  aft.  I  chartered 
the  boat  for  the  passage,  and  was  to  deliver  it  up 
to  the  merchants,  or  their  agent,  when  we  had 
arrived  at  head-waters.  One  man  who  came 


109 


down  in  it  was  to  return  with  me,  on  condition 
he  worked  his  passage ;  and  I  found  that  the 
owners  themselves  desired  to  accompany  us  to 
their  home.  I  had  no  serious  objection  to  this, 
provided  they  supplied  their  own  provisions  ; 
and,  in  fact,  I  thought  it  might  be  rather  an  ad- 
vantage, as  they  were  acquainted  with  the  river. 
I  gave  them  to  understand  at  the  outset,  how- 
ever, that  the  cabin  must  be  at  my  exclusive 
disposal,  and  to  this  they  readily  agreed.  I  ac- 
cordingly sent  on  board  my  goods  and  chattels, 
cooking  utensils,  and  provisions.  The  Command- 
ant, at  my  request,  very  obligingly  appointed  a 
Cossack  to  go  with  me,  and  a  smart,  energetic 
little  fellow  he  was. 

Having  made  everything  ready,  I  took  leave 
of  my  friends  in  Yakutsk,  and  assumed  the 
command  of  my  little  craft,  on  the  morning  of 
the  30th  of  July,  and  thus  commenced  what 
was  to  me  an  entirely  new  phase  of  navigation. 
The  wind  being  adverse,  I  had  the  horses 
hitched  on,  and  away  we  went.  My  crew  con- 
sisted of  my  man  Parker,  Kutsnetsoff,  the  Cos- 
sack, the  man  who  worked  his  passage,  and 
together  with  the  two  merchants  and  myself 
made  seven  of  us  in  all.  My  weapons  of  de- 
fence (of  which,  by  the  way,  there  did  not 


110 


seem  to  be  much  need)  consisted  of  a  pair  of 
double-barrelled  pistols  with  spring  bayonets, 
and  a  large  broadsword,  with  a  conspicuous 
gilt  hilt  finished  off  with  an  eagle's  head. 
These  implements  looked  dreadfully  formidable 
and  warlike,  and  I  deposited  them  in  a  con- 
venient place  in  my  cabin.  I  assigned  to  Parker, 
Kutsnetsoff,  and  the  Cossack  the  berth  which  I 
did  not  use,  and  they  were  to  turn  in  and 
out  by  watches.  The  two  merchants  and  the 
other  man  were  to  select  the  best  place  to  sleep 
they  could  find  elsewhere.  With  matters  ar- 
ranged in  this  way,  we  went  on  in  good  style, 
the  horses  going  most  of  the  time  at  a  gentle 
trot.  In  the  course  of  the  day  we  passed  two 
post-stations. 

On  the  morning  of  the  second  day,  having 
accomplished  about  150  versts  of  my  journey, 
I  stopped  at  a  postrstation,  where  the  official 
appeared  to  be  a  much  more  wide-awake  man 
than  any  we  had  passed.  I  sent  my  deroshner 
to  be  written  on,  and  my  Cossack  ordered  the 
horses  to  be  attached.  This  order  not  being 
obeyed  at  once,  I  saw  there  was  some  difficulty, 
and  sent  Kutsnetsoff  to  see  what  was  the  mat- 
ter. On  returning,  he  asked  me  to  go  into  the 
office  myself.  So,  hauling  up  the  collar  of  my 


Ill 


shirt,  and,  assuming  such  an  air  of  importance 
as  I  thought  the  case  might  require,  I  went  and 
demanded  the  cause  of  my  detention.  "  The 
horses  are  all  ready  for  you,  Sir,"  said  the  pos- 
tilion, "but  those  two  merchants  cannot  go  in 
that  boat.  The  government  don't  keep  horses 
to  accommodate  travelling  traders.  If  they  want 
horses,  they  must  pay  for  them."  There  was 
no  alternative,  but  that  the  fellows  should  leave 
the  boat ;  and,  to  my  surprise,  they  did  it  with- 
out a  word  of  objection.  Perhaps  they  were 
conscious  that  they  had  taken  advantage  of  my 
ignorance  to  get  a  passage  home  free  of  charge. 
I  was  not  sorry  for  their  removal,  although 
they  appeared  to  be  good  men;  for  one  of 
them  was  a  constant  singer  of  love-songs  which 
were  all  High  Dutch  to  me,  and  from  his  prox- 
imity to  my  quarters  his  well-intended  music 
became  very  annoying.  This  difficulty  removed, 
we  proceeded  again,  under  three  horse-power. 
By  the  time  we  reached  the  next  station,  the 
wind  became  favorable,  we  hoisted  our  sail  to 
the  breeze,  and  cast  off  from  the  horses.  By 
keeping  near  the  shore,  out  of  the  main  cur- 
rent, we  made  better  progress  in  this  way  than 
we  had  done  previously,  and  passed  several  sta- 
tions without  stopping.  And  so  we  went  on  by 


112 


sail  or  by  horse-power,  according  as  the  winds 
were  favorable  or  adverse. 

August  6th,  we  reached  Olakminsk,  which  is 
about  600  versts  from  Yakutsk.     By  this  time 
I  began  to  think  the  mode  of  travelling  I  had 
chosen  very  pleasant.     The  season  was  delight- 
ful, and   the   scenery  as  we   passed   along  was 
diversified  with  objects  of  sublimity  and  beauty. 
At  times  we  were  moving  through  level  country, 
and  at  times  among  high  mountains ;  in  some 
places  the  river  was  contracted  to  a  narrow  span 
by  precipitous  ranges  of  cliffs,  and  again  its  broad 
expanse  embraced  many  islands.     To  relieve  the 
monotony  of  the  confinement  on  board  my  boat, 
I  occasionally  rode  on  horseback  from  one  station 
to  another,  and  found  the  change  very  agreeable. 
The  country  in  some  places  was  thick-wooded, 
chiefly   with    fir    and    birch ;    in   others,  it  was 
clothed  with  shrubbery,  and   I  noticed  currant 
and  gooseberry  bushes,  and  frequently  alighted 
to   refresh  myself  with   the   fruit.     We   passed 
a  number  of  small  clusters  of  shanties,  inhabited 
by  Tunguscans,  in  the  vicinity  of  which  herds 
of  cattle  were  grazing.     Near  the  houses  were 
domestic  reindeer  of  a  large  size.     The  children 
were   playing   about   in   little   groups,   and  the 
older  ones  were  amusing  the  younger  by  hold- 


113 


ing  them  on  the  backs  of  the  deer,  and  teaching 
them  to  ride,  —  making  quite  a  rural  and  domes- 
tic scene. 

We  had  at  no  time  on  our  route  any  lack  of 
good  milk,  and  once  we  had  about  a  gallon  of 
rich  cream  given  us.  The  idea  struck  me  that 
it  might  be  converted  into  butter ;  I  therefore 
had  it  put  into  a  large  pot,  and  with  a  kind 
of  pudding-stick  sat  down  at  my  cabin  door, 
and  as  we  were  moving  along  began  to  stir  it. 
In  the  course  of  half  an  hour  I  produced  a 
lump  of  butter  that  would  have  put  to  shame 
seven  eighths  of  the  dairy-maids  in  this  country. 

I  had  long  since  noticed  the  great  deference 
shown  to  the  military  in  these  parts,  but  I  saw 
it  particularly  illustrated  by  my  Cossack,  in  ex- 
erting his  authority  among  the  people  at  a  post- 
station.  He  was  scolding  them  for  their  laziness 
in  hitching  on  the  horses,  and  I  could  hear  that 
he  was  making  a  very  great  lion  of  me.  "  Start 
quick,  you  rascals,"  said  he,  u  we  have  got  a 
great  American  captain  in  the  boat,  going  on 
government  business  ! "  And  this  seemed  to 
accelerate  everything,  even  the  horses,  for  they 
travelled  better  after  it. 

On  the  15th,  we  passed  Witim,  which  is  about 
1,400  versts  from  Yakutsk.  Here  the  favorable 

15 


114 


winds,  of  which  we  had  availed  ourselves  for 
several  days  past,  left  us,  and  we  took,  as  usual, 
to  horse-power.  A  short  time  after,  we  came 
to  a  station  of  some  ten  or  twelve  houses,  where 
the  inhabitants  were  in  great  perturbation  on 
account  of  the  small-pox,  which  was  raging 
among  them.  Some  had  fled  from  the  place, 
and  others  would  have  gone  had  they  not  been 
detained  by  their  families.  The  disease  existed 
among  them  in  all  its  stages,  from  the  symptoms 
to  the  full  pox.  I  had  had  considerable  experi- 
ence with  it,  and  thought  I  might  mitigate  the 
suffering  by  inoculation.  They  were  all  desir- 
ous that  I  should  do  so,  and  gathered  anxiously 
around  me.  I  called  for  a  needle  and  thread, 
and  selecting  one  of  the  subjects  whose  pox 
was  ripe,  drew  the  thread  through  the  pustules 
until  it  was  saturated  with  matter.  Then  pre- 
paring the  maggot  (as  I  believe  it  is  called), 
by  cutting  the  thread  into  very  short  pieces,  with 
my  penknife  I  made  a  little  incision  in  the  upper 
arm,  placed  in  it  one  of  the  maggots  and  bound 
it  there.  I  went  through  this  process  on  seven 
or  eight,  and  instructed  them  how  to  perform  it ; 
and  as  to  their  diet,  to  eat  no  fat  or  salt  meat, 
but  to  confine  themselves  to  bread  and  milk. 
They  were  very  grateful  for  the  advice,  and  for 


115 


what  I  had  done  for  them,  and  were  desirous 
of  manifesting  their  gratitude  in  some  more  sub- 
stantial form,  but  it  was  declined. 

After  passing  through  an  extensive  grazing 
country,  interspersed  with  large  fields  of  grain, 
about  300  versts  from  Witim  we  came  to  rapids, 
with  high  precipitous  banks  on  either  side,  where 
the  velocity  of  the  current  was  so  great  that  we 
were  obliged  to  hug  the  shore  to  avoid  it.  In 
some  parts  of  it  we  could  only  get  along  by 
sending  a  small  boat  ahead  to  carry  a  line  to 
warp  by.  This  was  a  slow  and  laborious  opera- 
tion, and  we  were  heartily  rejoiced  when  we 
were  through  with  it.  The  rapids  once  passed, 
the  scenery  soon  became  as  interesting  as  it 
had  been  before,  and  the  country,  if  anything, 
rather  more  populous  and  thriving.  We  saw,  be- 
side farming  and  grazing,  a  number  of  men  en- 
gaged in  fisheries  along  the  banks  of  the  stream. 
I  could  not  see  but  that  there  was  as  great  a 
degree  of  happiness  here  as  in  any  other  part 
of  the  world.  The  wants  of  the  people  were 
abundantly  provided  for  by  the  produce  of  the 
soil  and  the  river,  and  beyond  this  they  seemed 
to  have  no  desire. 

After  passing  through  some  more  rapids,  where 
we  were  again  obliged  to  cast  off  our  horses  and 


116 


warp  the  boat,  on  the  19th  we  reached  Kirinsk, 
which  is  about  1,650  versts  from  Yakutsk.  From 
here  we  went  on  quickly,  owing  to  the  good  path 
for  the  horses  on  the  shore,  and  on  the  26th 
reached  Wercholinsk.  This  was  a  considerable 
town,  situated  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Lena; 
but  we  pushed  by  it  without  stopping.  We 
now  began  to  be  troubled  with  the  shallowness 
of  the  water,  but  we  made  out  with  difficulty  to 
reach  Katschuk,  beyond  which  there  was  hardly 
enough  to  float  a  canoe,  and  we  concluded  we 
had  reached  the  head  of  navigation.  According 
to  agreement  I  delivered  up  my  boat  here,  and 
took  a  post-carriage  for  Irkutsk,  where  I  arrived 
on  the  afternoon  of  the  28th  of  August,  1807, 
and  drove  into  the  court  square  of  the  Com- 
pany's establishment. 


IX. 

IRKUTSK.  —  JOURNEY  TO  TOMSK.  —  NEW  TRAVELLING   COMPANION.  — 
TOBOLSK.  —  RUSSIAN  LEAVE-TAKING. 

I  PRESENTED  my  letters  of  introduction  from 
the  Chamberlain,  Baron  von  Kesanoff,  and  was 
kindly  welcomed  by  the  Superintendent.  He  in- 
vited me  to  make  his  house  my  home  while  I 
remained  in  the  place.  I  replied  that  my  stay 
must  be  short,  and  begged  him  to  assist  me  in 
procuring  a  convenient  vehicle  for  my  journey, 
so  that  I  might  not  be  obliged  to  change  at 
every  station,  as  I  should  if  I  went  in  a  public 
conveyance. 

I  discharged  my  Cossack  when  I  gave  up  my 
boat,  and  made  him  a  present  of  fifty  rubles,  all 
my  cooking  utensils,  provisions,  and  some  other 
articles.  He  took  his  leave,  with  many  thanks 
and  good  wishes,  which  I  cordially  returned.  I 
had  brought  Kutsnetsoff  home  to  his  native 
town,  from  which  he  had  been  absent  ten  years. 
He  started  off  immediately  to  find  his  mother. 
The  next  morning  he  made  his  appearance  at 


118 


my  room,  leading  her  in.  She  was  a  very  digni- 
fied-looking elderly  lady,  dressed  in  black.  As 
he  introduced  her  to  me,  she  dropped  upon  her 
knees,  and,  while  the  tears  from  an  overflow- 
ing and  grateful  heart  were  coursing  down  her 
cheeks,  poured  out  her  thanks  for  the  interest  I 
had  taken  in  the  return  of  her  son.  It  touched 
me  so  deeply,  that  I  could  scarcely  refrain  from 
tears  myself.  It  carried  my  thoughts  home  to 
my  poor  mother,  and  I  raised  her  up,  and  as- 
sured her  that,  if  I  had  done  her  son  a  favor,  or 
brought  comfort  and  consolation  to  her,  I  was 
amply  compensated  by  the  pleasure  and  satis- 
faction the  deed  itself  afforded  me.  Kutsnetsoff 
had  previously  observed  that  he  should  like  to 
go  on  with  me  to  Moscow  to  see  his  brother,  if 
his  mother  were  willing.  When  it  was  suggest- 
ed to  her,  she  readily  gave  her  consent,  being 
also  desirous  that  he  should  see  his  brother. 

While  we  were  talking  about  the  matter, 
who  should  drive  into  the  court  square  but 
Dr.  Langsdorff.  I  was  rejoiced  to  see  him,  but 
could  not  account  for  his  being  so  close  upon 
my  heels.  It  appeared  that  he  had  arrived  at 
Yakutsk  shortly  after  my  departure,  and,  mak- 
ing but  a  short  stay,  had  been  pushing  on  in 
the  small  boats,  hoping  to  overtake  and  sur- 


119 


prise  me  on  the  river.  He  had  gained  two 
days  on  me,  but  encountered  all  kinds  of 
troubles  and  vexations,  such  as  leaky  boats, 
drunken  boatmen,  an  inefficient  Cossack  guide, 
the  upsetting  of  the  boat,  and  loss  of  papers. 
He  was  quite  chagrined  when  I  told  him  that 
I,  by  taking  a  larger  craft  under  my  own  con- 
trol, had  avoided  all  these  difficulties,  and  had 
made  quite  a  pleasant  excursion  of  it. 

The  Doctor  having  decided  to  make  a  longer 
stay  than  I  desired  to,  that  he  might  visit 
Kiakta,  across  the  Lake  Baikal,  I  purchased  a 
vehicle  which  I  thought  would  answer  my  pur- 
pose. It  was  called  a  pervoskka,  and  was  noth- 
ing more  than  a  box  rounded  at  the  bottom, 
and  fixed  firmly  to  the  axle  tree  without  springs. 
A  covered  top  reached  from  the  back  part 
nearly  to  the  middle,  resembling  the  top  of  a 
cradle.  The  forward  part  of  the  box  was  cov- 
ered far  enough  to  make  a  seat  for  the  driver, 
from  which  a  boot  extended  to  the  cradle-top. 
On  the  bottom  of  this  outlandish  concern  I 
must  either  lie  or  sit  upright  throughout  my 
whole  journey.  I  therefore  procured  a  good 
substantial  feather-bed  and  put  it  in,  with  which 
and  two  or  three  well-stuffed  pillows,  my  lug- 
gage, and  other  wadding,  I  thought  I  might  get 


120 


along  without  much  chafing.  As  this  carriage 
was  only  calculated  for  one  person,  I  took  a 
post-carriage  of  much  the  same  construction  for 
Parker  and  Kutsnetsoff. 

Being  now  all  ready  for  the  road,  I  decided 
to  stay  a  day  or  two,  and  look  round  the  place 
with  my  friend  the  Doctor.  I  shall  not  attempt 
a  description  of  this  large,  and  I  might  say 
handsome  town.  It  is  the  modern  capital  of 
Siberia,  and  is  situated  on  the  banks  of  the 
beautiful  river  Angara,  which  is  one  of  the  lar- 
gest tributaries  of  the  Yenisei.  It  was  in  that 
day,  and  I  suppose  still  is,  the  great  commercial 
emporium  of  the  eastern  part  of  the  empire, 
whence  the  more  distant  provinces  are  supplied, 
and  whither  are  brought  the  furs  and  the  prod- 
ucts of  the  fisheries  from  Kamtchatka,  Ochotsk, 
and  the  Aleutian  Islands;  and  through  the  fron- 
tier town  of  Kiakta,  across  Lake  Baikal,  the 
teas,  nankins,  silks,  and  other  articles  which  are 
obtained  from  the  Chinese  in  exchange  for  the 
sea-otter  and  sable  skins,  and  find  such  a  ready 
market  in  Kussia. 

Having  a  journey  before  me  of  3,500  miles, 
and  desirous  of  reaching  St.  Petersburg  before 
the  close  of  navigation  in  the  autumn,  I  was 
prepared  to  travel  day  and  night,  and  of  course 


121 


passed  many  towns  and  villages  without  no- 
ticing them,  only  making  short  halts  for  a  day 
or  two  at  some  of  the  larger  or  shire-towns 
to  rest.  I  was  provided  with  a  new  deroshner, 
and  a  good  supply  of  copper  money  to  pay  for 
fresh  post-horses.  On  the  31st  of  August,  hav- 
ing hitched  the  horses  to  our  vehicles,  —  that 
is,  one  in  the  shafts  of  each,  and  one  on  each 
side,  —  and  having  again  taken  leave  of  Doc- 
tor LangsdorfF  and  the  Company's  Superintend- 
ent, the  Yemshik,  as  the  driver  is  called, 
mounted  his  box,  cracked  his  whip,  and  away 
we  went,  leaving  the  capital  of  Siberia  behind 
us.  The  post-stations  were  about  25  versts,  or 
15  miles,  asunder,  and  we  were  well  attended 
at  them.  If  we  desired  it,  we  could  obtain 
something  to  eat,  and  I  generally  availed  my- 
self of  the  opportunity  twice  a  day,  taking  a 
substantial  meal,  and  topping  off  with  a  cup  of 
tea,  preparatory  for  which  we  almost  always 
found  the  kettle  boiling.  The  Yemshik's  signal 
for  starting  was  the  crack  of  his  whip,  and  at 
that  the  horses  would  bound  off  at  full  speed, 
and  he  would  begin  to  sing.  The  song,  as  well 
as  the  speed,  was  generally  kept  up  from  one 
station  to  another.  The  music  was  sometimes 
quite  pleasant  and  cheering;  the  horses,  at 

16 


122 


any  rate,  seemed  to  know   that  it  meant  "  Go 
ahead/' 

In  this  way  we  continued  night  and  day.  On 
the  6th  of  September  we  passed  through  Kras- 
nojarsk,  where  the  Chamberlain  Baron  von  Re- 
sanofF  had  died.  We  continued  on  without  stop- 
ping, and  on  the  7th  reached  the  town  of  Poim, 
where  I  halted  a  couple  of  hours  to  deliver  a 
letter  from  the  young  man  Chlabnekoff,  whom  I 
took  as  a  passenger  from  Kamtchatka  to  Ochotsk, 
to  his  brother.  He  called  on  me,  and  insisted  on 
my  going  to  his  house,  if  it  was  only  for  an  hour. 
His  family  wanted  to  see  me.  I  took  KutsnetsofF 
with  me,  and  we  gave  them  all  the  information 
we  could  about  their  brother.  We  found  a  splen- 
did collation  prepared  for  us,  with  Madeira  wine 
such  as  we  do  not  have  in  these  days.  After  con- 
cluding the  entertainment  with  a  bottle  of  cham- 
pagne, we  started  off;  and  whatever  the  facts 
may  have  been,  we  certainly  felt  much  lighter 
than  before.  I  merely  mention  this  circumstance 
to  show  that  there  was  no  lack  of  "  the  good 
stuff"  in  Siberia.  The  Maine  Law  was  not  en- 
forced there  half  a  century  ago. 

On  the  10th  I  reached  the  shire-town  of 
Tomsk,  and  was  constrained  to  acknowledge 
myself  pretty  well  used  up.  I  can  assure  those 


123 


who  have  not  made  a  trial  of  this  mode  of  trav- 
elling, that  to  lay  on  one's  back  in  a  carriage 
without  any  springs,  for  eight  days  and  nights  in 
succession,  is  no  joke.  When  I  alighted  occasion- 
ally my  whole  frame  was  in  a  perfect  tremor,  yet 
the  roads  were  not  stony,  but  tolerably  good. 
There  was  no  regular  hotel  in  the  town,  and  so 
after  a  little  inquiry  we  drove  up  to  a  large  log- 
house,  with  a  square  enclosure  in  front,  the  owner 
of  which  was  kind  enough  to  entertain  us.  I 
immediately  set  Kutsnetsoff  upon  the  lookout 
for  a  more  easy  and  convenient  carriage,  and 
told  him  if  he  should  find  one  to  endeavor  to 
dispose  of  my  old  one  in  part  pay.  In  the  mean 
time,  having  a  letter  from  my  friend  Lieutenant 
Schwostoff  to  his  uncle,  who  was  Governor  of  the 
place,  I  waited  on  him.  I  was  very  cordially 
received,  and  invited  to  dine  the  next  day. 

In  a  short  time  Kutsnetsoff  succeeded  in  find- 
ing a  vehicle  much  better  than  the  old  one.  It 
was  quite  a  stylish  affair,  on  springs,  and  two  per- 
sons could  ride  in  it  conveniently ;  but  I  had  to 
pay  as  much  to  boot,  perhaps,  as  both  carriages 
were  worth.  I  called  upon  the  Company's  agent 
to  furnish  me  with  200  rubles,  but  he  had  re- 
ceived no  particular  instructions  to  advance  me 
money,  and  was  reluctant  to  do  it.  He  was  quite 


124 


reasonable,  however,  and  was  willing  to  listen  to 
my  story.     While  I  was  explaining  to  him  who 
I  was,  and  why  I  wanted  money,  there  were  sev- 
eral persons  standing  by.     Among  them  was  a 
good-looking,   well-dressed  man,  who   spoke   up 
and  said  he  would  let  me  have  as  large  a  sum  as 
I  wanted,  at  which  the  agent  said  he  was  willing 
to  supply  me.     After  I  had  finished  my  business 
the  gentleman  who  made  the  kind  offer  of  his 
purse  informed  me  that  he  himself  was  going  to 
Moscow,  and,  if  I  had  no  objections,  would  like  to 
take  a  seat  in  my  carriage,  and  share  the  expense. 
I  hardly  knew  what  to  answer,  and  I  scrutinized 
him  very  closely.     His  face  wore  an  honest  look, 
and  he  had  about  his  person  two  conspicuous  or- 
ders of  merit ;  so  I  concluded  to  accept  his  prop- 
osition.    I  found  no  reason  afterwards  to  regret 
it.     He  was  a  Greek  by  birth,  and  a  merchant  of 
high  standing.     His  name  was  Dementy  Simon- 
itch,  and  he  had  done  several  meritorious  acts,  for 
which   he   received   medals    from    the   Emperor 
Alexander,  and  likewise  a  present  from  him  of 
a  splendid  gold  watch  and  chain. 

Having  arranged  this  matter,  I  repaired  to  the 
Governor's  to  dine  and  take  leave  of  him.  I 
found  a  great  many  gentlemen  there,  but  not 
one  who  spoke  English,  so  that  I  was  almost  a 


125 


dummy  amongst  them.  I  understood  enough 
Kuss,  however,  to  learn  that  they  were  desirous 
of  inquiring  into  the  nature  and  organization  of 
our  government.  I  explained  all  the  prominent 
points  as  well  as  I  could,  and  they  appeared  to 
understand,  for  they  praised  our  institutions  high- 
ly. If  I  was  able,  under  the  circumstances,  to 
form  a  correct  opinion,  there  was  a  good  deal 
of  the  spirit  of  reform  among  them.  After  tak- 
ing leave  of  the  Governor,  I  commenced  prepara- 
tions to  start  the  next  morning.  As  I  saw  but 
little  of  the  town,  I  can  say  but  little  or  nothing 
of  it.  It  was  quite  a  large  place,  the  houses 
nearly  all  of  wood,  and  the  streets  broad  and 
in  some  places  planked  in  the  centre  for  the 
convenience  of  fooi>-travel,  and  yet  in  others  so 
muddy  that  there  was  no  comfort  in  moving 
round  out  of  a  carriage. 

On  the  12th  of  September  I  started  with  my 
new  companion,  and  went  on  at  the  same  break- 
neck pace  as  before.  My  new  coach  was  far 
superior  to  the  old  one.  We  could  sit  up  or  lie 
down  as  we  chose,  and  were  not  annoyed  by  the 
intolerable  jarring  of  the  body.  My  companion 
was  very  agreeable,  and  although  he  could  not 
speak  a  word  of  English,  and  my  vocabulary  of 
Euss  was  too  limited  to  hold  a  continued,  in- 


126 


telligible  conversation,  we  soon  became  accus- 
tomed to  each  other's  pantomimic  gestures,  and 
got  along  quite  understandingly.  On  the  19th 
we  arrived,  without  any  casualties  worthy  of  re- 
mark, at  Tobolsk,  the  ancient  capital  of  Siberia, 
and  put  up,  as  usual,  at  a  private  house. 

Here  my  carriage-mate,  Dementy,  had  ac- 
quaintances. He  introduced  me  to  the  family 
of  Mr.  Zelinzoff,  or  Green,  a  highly  respectable 
and  wealthy  merchant,  and  the  proprietor  of 
large  iron-works  at  Ekatereinburg.  He  was 
himself  absent  from  home,  but,  together  with 
Dementy,  I  was  invited  by  his  son,  who  officiated 
as  major-domo,  to  dine  with  his  family  while  I 
remained  in  the  city.  I  take  pleasure  in  partic- 
ularizing in  regard  to  this  family,  on  account  of 
their  marked  civility  and  kindness  to  a  stranger. 
It  consisted  of  Madam  Zelinzoff  three  sons,  a 
daughter,  and  a  young  man  named  Duro,  who 
was  a  teacher  of  French,  and  spoke  English  flu- 
ently. They  lived  in  splendid  style,  and  spread 
a  table  for  fifteen  or  twenty  persons  every  day. 
Among  the  numerous  invited  guests  was  a 
French  military  officer  in  the  Russian  service, 
who  spoke  English  well,  and  with  whom  I  had 
a  good  deal  of  chat.  After  dinner  the  ladies 
and  gentlemen  retired  to  a  large  hall,  where 


127 


there  was  a  billiard-table  and  a  piano,  violins 
and  flutes,  on  which  the  amateurs  displayed 
their  skill.  This  was  the  agreeable  practice 
daily  while  I  was  there. 

Perhaps  I  may  be  allowed  here  to  make  a 
few  remarks  in  regard  to  the  city  of  Tobolsk, 
though  I  cannot  give  a  minute  description  of 
it.  It  is  very  singularly  divided  into  the  upper 
and  lower  town.  The  lower  town  seems  to  have 
been  once  the  bed  of  the  river  Irtich,  which 
now,  uniting  with  the  Tobol,  runs  through  the 
western  part  of  the  valley,  leaving  both  the 
upper  and  lower  town  on  the  eastern  side,  but 
divided  distinctly  by  a  steep  bank,  which  was 
probably  in  former  days  the  margin  of  the 
stream.  The  lower  town  is  sometimes,  though 
rarely,  inundated ;  and  on  the  other  hand  the 
upper  town  is  inconvenienced  by  a  want  of 
water.  Taking  both  sections  together  they 
formed  a  very  large  place,  with  a  numerous 
and  mixed  population  of  Tartars,  Buchanans, 
and  Kalmucks.  The  public  buildings  were 
mostly  of  stone,  but  the  private  houses,  with 
few  exceptions,  of  wood.  It  was  the  great  mart 
of  trade  with  the  eastern  part  of  the  Empire, 
and  all  the  caravans  from  China  and  the  distant 
provinces  concentrated  here. 


128 


This  place  had  formerly  been  the  Botany 
Bay,  or  penal  settlement,  of  the  Kussians,  and 
from  the  descendants  of  convicts  a  great  and 
flourishing  city  had  sprung  up,  with  its  wealthy 
merchants,  thrifty  traders,  and  literary  and  sci- 
entific men.  The  German  and  French  languages 
were  taught  and  spoken  by  all  the  better  classes. 
All  kinds  of  provisions  were  so  cheap,  that  the 
poorest  inhabitant  never  need  suffer  for  food; 
and  I  could  see  here,  as  throughout  Siberia,  the 
kindliest  feelings  manifested  toward  the  lower 
orders  of  society. 

Having  remained  at  Tobolsk  six  days,  we 
prepared  to  continue  our  journey.  Two  of  the 
young  Mr.  Zelinzoffs  were  to  accompany  us  as 
far  as  their  father's  estate,  at  Ekatereinburg. 
Accordingly,  after  dining  and  making  some  pre- 
liminary arrangements  for  departure,  the  whole 
family,  with  their  guests,  assembled  in  the  large 
room  for  a  little  chat  and  to  take  leave.  Now 
this  leave-taking  was  a  somewhat  formal  piece 
of  business,  and  I  had  misgivings  as  to  how  I 
should  acquit  myself  with  becoming  gallantry. 
The  custom  with  the  gentlemen  was  for  each  to 
lay  the  right  hand  on  the  other's  back,  and  to 
kiss  each  other  on  both  cheeks;  not  unfrequent- 
ly  the  noses  came  in  rude  collision.  A  lady 


129 


presents  you  the  back  of  the  hand  to  kiss,  and 
at  the  same  time  she  kisses  you  on  the  cheek. 
Being  all  ready  for  action,  the  ladies  and  gen- 
tlemen placed  themselves  in  a  row  round  the 
room,  and  then  the  performance  was  commenced 
by  the  two  sons  who  were  going  with  us,  and 
continued  by  my  friend  Dementy.  By  this  time 
the  perspiration  had  begun  to  start  upon  my 
forehead  ;  but  I  saw  it  was  of  no  use  to  be 
lagging,  and  so,  summoning  all  my  courage,  I 
turned  to,  and  went  through  the  ceremony  like 
a  veteran  courtier.  The  last  of  the  ladies  I  came 
to  was  the  daughter,  a  great  beauty,  and  I  was 
greatly  tempted,  in  violation  of  Russian  etiquette, 
to  kiss  her  cheek,  but  I  managed  to  restrain 
myself. 


17 


X. 


FLYING  FERRY-BOAT.  —  EKATEREINBURG.  —  KAZAN.  —  A  DINNER-PARTY. 
—  Moscow.  —  ST.  PETERSBURG.  —  GOOD  NEWS. 

AFTER  the  ceremony  described  in  the  last  chap- 
ter, we  took  to  our  carriages  and  proceeded  to 
the  ferry  which  crosses  the  Irtich,  where  we 
found  what  was  called  a  flying  ferry-boat,  of  suf- 
ficient size  to  transport  several  teams  at  once. 
The  hull  of  the  craft  did  not  swim  deep  in  the 
water,  but  was  furnished  with  a  very  deep  keel 
along  its  whole  length.  It  had  a  short  mast, 
placed  about  as  far  forward  as  in  sloops,  and  sup- 
ported by  shrouds.  Now  an  anchor  was  sunk  in 
the  centre  of  the  river  some  distance  above,  and 
from  the  anchor  a  rope,  sustained  on  the  surface 
by  buoys,  was  extended  and  fastened  to  the  bow 
of  the  boat.  By  means  of  a  block  and  pulley  this 
rope  could  be  elevated  about  half  the  distance  to 
the  mast-head.  When  ready  for  starting,  the  bow, 
which  was  always  pointed  directly  up  stream  at 
the  landing-place,  was  pushed  off  a  little,  so  that 
the  current  might  strike  the  keel  at  an  angle. 


131 


This  position  was  maintained  by  the  use  of  the 
rudder ;  and  as  the  boat  could  not  drift  down  the 
river,  on  account  of  the  anchor  to  which  it  was 
attached,  it  was  driven  sideways  to  the  opposite 
shore.  By  this  ingenious  contrivance  passengers 
and  freight  were  carried  across  without  the  least 
trouble  or  labor. 

On  the  24th  we  arrived  at  Ekatereinburg. 
During  our  stay  here  of  one  night,  our  young 
friends  showed  us  about  the  iron-works,  and  we 
saw  all  the  operations,  from  smelting  the  ore  to 
working  it  up  into  bar-iron.  Gold  ore  was  dug 
here  by  the  government,  and  the  pure  metal 
extracted  by  pulverizing,  and  washing  it  on  an 
inclined  plane  covered  with  ridges,  which  stopped 
the  gold,  while  the  lighter  substances  were  car- 
ried off  with  the  water.  It  did  not  appear  to 
be  a  very  money-making  process.  The  next  day 
we  took  leave  of  our  young  friends,  and  pursued 
our  journey  westward  to  Kazan,  on  the  river 
Volga,  which  we  reached  on  the  30th.  Here  my 
carriage-mate,  Dementy,  was  quite  at  home  again, 
and  we  concluded  to  halt  for  a  couple  of  days. 
The  city  was  large  and  well  built,  and  the  most 
important  place  in  the  eastern  part  of  Russia 
proper. 

I  had  for  some   time   experienced  the   good 


132 


effects  of  Dementy's  badge  of  distinction,  but  it 
did  us  especial  service  here.  It  procured  us  an 
invitation  to  dine  with  the  military  Governor, 
who  was  himself  of  Greek  extraction,  and  some- 
what acquainted  with  my  friend.  I  had  no  great 
desire  to  go  among  great  folks,  as  my  wardrobe 
was  scanty,  and  the  few  clothes  I  possessed  had 
grown  pretty  threadbare  with  the  wear  and  tear 
of  my  three  years'  cruise.  I  wished  to  decline, 
but  Dementy  said  it  would  give  offence.  He  had 
probably  given  an  account  of  my  adventures,  and 
of  my  negotiation  with  the  Chamberlain,  Baron 
von  Resanoff;  and  this,  together  with  the  mark 
of  the  Emperor's  approbation  which  he  himself 
wore,  had  brought  us  into  notice. 

At  the  proper  time  the  military  carriage  of  the 
Governor  came  for  us,  and  away  we  went  in  fine 
style.  We  found  a  great  number  of  persons  as- 
sembled at  his  house,  including  officers,  military 
and  civil,  and  many  ladies.  I  was  introduced  as 
an  American  captain.  I  felt  a  little  uncomforta- 
ble lest  I  should  be  questioned  with  regard  to 
my  official  grade,  as  it  might  not  have  been  good 
policy  to  have  explained  my  claim  to  a  captaincy. 
It  was  a  splendid  entertainment,  however,  and,  as 
I  could  not  converse  very  intelligibly,  I  had  lit- 
tle else  to  do  than  ply  the  knife  and  fork,  while 


133 


Dementy,  who  had  somehow  picked  up  all  the 
particulars  about  me  and  my  business,  gave  them 
my  whole  story,  much  to  my  satisfaction.  After 
dinner  we  retired  to  another  room,  where  coffee 
was  served.  The  ladies  questioned  me  about  our 
country,  and  to  show  that  they  had  some  knowl- 
edge of  American  history,  they  spoke  of  Wash- 
ington and  Franklin  in  high  terms.  We  con- 
versed upon  the  subject  until  I  had  exhausted 
my  whole  stock  of  Euss  in  eulogizing  those 
men. 

October  2d,  we  started  on  our  route  for  Mos- 
cow, our  next  stopping-place.  We  met  with 
nothing  remarkable  excepting  muddy  roads  and 
frequent  altercations  at  the  post-stations.  There 
was  evidently  less  respect  paid  to  my  friend's 
decorations,  and  less  alacrity  in  attending  to  us. 
We,  however,  reached  the  great  city  of  Moscow 
on  the  8th,  and  passed  within  the  first  circle, 
which  is  called  the  Zemlanoigorod.  We  wound 
along  through  the  streets,  as  it  seemed  to  me, 
for  miles.  At  last  Dementy  pointed  out  a  public 
house,  where  we  stopped  awhile  to  brush  up  and 
make  ourselves  look  respectable,  —  after  which 
Dementy  left  us.  Kutsnetsoff  sought  at  once 
the  whereabouts  of  the  Company's  establish- 
ment, and  we  started  again,  passed  through  the 


134 


Bale  gate  into  the  circle  of  that  name,  and  drove 
to  the  Company's  house.  I  entered  the  spacious 
stone  building  with  Kutsnetsofiy  and  met  his 
brother,  the  Superintendent,  on  the  great  land- 
ing-stair. He  was  a  splendid-looking  man.  After 
the  brothers  had  embraced  each  other,  and 
while  tears  were  rolling  down  their  cheeks,  I 
was  introduced.  I  was  cordially  welcomed,  and 
led  into  a  large  hall,  where  I  was  presented  to 
the  Superintendent's  lady,  and  Kutsnetsoff  to  a 
sister  he  had  never  seen  before.  She  was  a 
very  handsome  woman,  and  richly  dressed  in 
the  latest  French  style. 

After  exchanging  mutual  inquiries,  I  was  told 
by  the  Superintendent  that  his  house  must  be 
my  home  while  I  remained  in  the  city.  I 
replied  that  I  was  desirous  of  reaching  St. 
Petersburg  before  the  close  of  navigation,  and 
consequently  my  stay  must  be  short.  They 
concluded  that  I  could  well  spare  a  week.  In 
that  time  I  thought  I  could  replenish  my  ward- 
robe with  the  latest  European  fashions,  and  at 
my  request,  a  draper  was  sent  for ;  he  took 
my  dimensions,  and  I  was  soon  fitted  out  com- 
pletely. My  Kamtchatka  sable-skins  were  con- 
verted into  a  lining  for  a  great  coat,  —  as 
something  of  that  kind  had  now  become  ne- 
cessary,—  and  they  made  a  splendid  article. 


135 


In  the  mean  time,  having  leisure,  I  availed 
myself  of  the  politeness  of  a  young  gentleman 
of  the  house,  who  offered  to  go  round  with  me 
and  show  me  the  city.  I  made  no  note  of 
what  I  saw  at  the  time,  and  since  then  half  a 
century  has  rolled  by.  I  can  only  recall  some 
of  the  leading  features  of  the  great  metropolis, 
which  may  be  interesting,  as  the  date  of  my 
visit  was  but  a  few  years  before  the  conflagra- 
tion which  drove  Napoleon  from  the  country. 
The  city  is  situated  on  an  elevation  which 
in  shape  resembles  a  turtle's  back.  The  river 
Moskva  sweeps  round  nearly  two  thirds  of  it, 
and  the  land  rises  gently  from  the  margin  to 
the  centre,  which  is  so  high  as  to  command  a 
splendid  panoramic  view  of  its  whole  extent. 
The  city  was  divided  into  four  departments  or 
circles.  The  first,  the  Kremlin,  situated  on  the 
crown  of  this  eminence,  and  enclosed  with  heavy 
ramparts  of  stone,  formed  a  sort  of  fortress  of 
very  ample  extent.  It  embraced  within  its  walls 
magnificent  cathedrals,  palaces,  and  public  build- 
ings, all  gorgeously  decorated.  Here  also  was 
the  great  bell,  which  stands  on  the  ground,  with 
a  triangular  piece  broken  out  of  the  rim.  Its 
weight  is  said  to  be  four  hundred  thousand 
pounds.  The  next  circle  was  the  Kitaigorod, 


136 


or  Chinese  Town,  also  containing  several  cathe- 
drals, convents,  parish  churches,  and  many  noble- 
men's   houses,    interspersed    with   mean-looking 
wooden  buildings.     The  third  circle,  which  sur- 
rounded  the    former,    was   the    Beloigorod,    or 
White  Town,  and  had  a  white  wall.    This  was  the 
business  part  of  the  city,  and  the  streets,  though 
mostly  paved,   were  muddy  and   filthy.      There 
were  here,  however,  many  public   edifices,   and 
handsome    private    houses,    the    residences    of 
the  merchants  and   traders.      The  fourth  circle, 
called   Zemlanoigorod,  or  Land  Town,  was   sur- 
rounded with  an  earthen  embankment,  and  en- 
closed an  area  of  nearly  ten  miles.     In  this  as 
in  the  other  circles,  there  was  a  great  diversity 
in  the  cost  of  the  different  structures,  the  very 
extremes  of  magnificence   and  meanness   being 
mingled   together   promiscuously.     I   was   very 
much  impressed  with  the  grandeur  and  beauty 
of   the    whole    city ;    spread    over    more    than 
twenty  square  miles  of  ground,  adorned  with  a 
countless  number  of  costly  and  elegant  buildings, 
with    thousands  of   spires  and  cupolas  covered 
with    silver   and    gold,  when    viewed   from  the 
Kremlin  it  afforded  one  of   the  most  pleasing 
spectacles  I  ever  gazed  upon. 

I  was  loath  to  leave  when  the  time  allotted 


137 


for  my  stay  had  expired,  but  there  was  no 
help  for  it.  So,  equipped  in  the  fashionable  rig 
with  which  the  draper  furnished  me,  I  turned 
my  face  toward  St.  Petersburg.  The  Superin- 
tendent was  kind  enough  to  propose  that 
Kutsnetsoff  should  accompany  me  to  my  jour- 
ney's end,  which  proposal  I  gladly  accepted. 
On  the  morning  of  the  17th,  I  took  leave  of 
the  good  friends  who  had  shown  me  so  much 
kindness,  and  stepped  into  my  carriage,  rode 
through  the  suburbs,  and  at  noon  emerged  into 
the  open  country.  We  passed  many  villages 
and  large  towns,  but  continued  on  without 
stopping  at  any  of  them  except  to  take  our 
meals. 

On  the  21st  of  October,  1807,  we  reached  the 
gates  of  St.  Petersburg,  and,  after  going  through 
a  thorough  examination  of  passports,  were  per- 
mitted to  go  on.  We  drove  at  once  to  the 
Company's  establishment,  where  I  was  kindly 
received  and  entertained  by  Mr.  Booldakofi^  the 
first  director  of  the  Kussian  American  Company. 
It  was  evening  when  I  arrived,  and  as  neither 
Mr.  B.  nor  any  one  in  the  house  could  speak 
English,  I  remained  partially  ignorant  of  the 
business  which  most  interested  me  until  the 
next  morning.  A  gentleman  then  came  in  who 

18 


138 


accosted  me  in  good  round  English,  and  I  was 
quite  overjoyed  at  the  sound.  This  was  Mr. 
Benedict  Cramer,  a  gentleman  with  whom  I 
became  very  intimate  in  business  afterwards. 
He  was  the  senior  partner  of  the  house  of 
Cramer,  Smith,  &  Co.,  and  was  also  one  of  the 
directors  of  the  Company. 

He  soon  threw  light  upon  my  whole  business 
by  saying  that  his  partner,  Mr.  Smith,  was  in 
the  United  States,  and  had  seen  my  owners 
and  assured  them  that  the  bills  of  exchange, 
the  duplicates  of  which  had  reached  them 
through  the  hands  of  Mr.  Moorfield,  were  good. 
Mr.  Moorfield  had  been  out  with  a  ship  in  the 
course  of  the  season,  the  bills  had  been  ac- 
cepted and  paid  with  fifteen  per  cent  advance, 
because  Spanish  dollars,  in  which  they  were 
payable,  commanded  that  premium.  The  pro- 
ceeds had  been  invested  in  hemp,  iron,  and 
manufactures  and  sent  to  America;  and  the 
business  had  been  transacted  through  his  house. 
"  You  have  now  nothing  to  do,"  he  concluded, 
"but  to  take  all  the  pleasure  you  can  while 
you  remain  with  us."  I  shook  him  heartily  by 
the  hand,  and  made  him  a  low  bow ;  after 
which  we  walked  out  together  to  his  place  of 
business.  He  introduced  me  to  his  brother  and 


139 


Mr.  L.  Harris,  the  American  Consul,  who  was 
connected  with  his  firm ;  and  in  the  same  way 
I  became  acquainted  with  a  number  of  influen- 
tial gentlemen,  from  whom  I  received  many 
civilities. 

Mr.  Booldakoff,  whose  house  I  made  my  home, 
showed  me  every  attention.  He  took  me  in 
his  carriage  to  all  the  places  of  note  in  the 
city,  and  had  an  audience  with  the  Count 
Kamansofl5  the  Prime  Minister,  to  whom  I  was 
presented.  In  short,  every  mark  of  respect 
that  could  be  accorded  to  a  stranger  was  shown 
me. 


XI. 

I    SAIL    DOWN    THE    BALTIC    IN    A   DUTCH    GALIOT.  —  TAKE    PASSAGE   AT 

ELSINORE  IN  THE  MARY  FOR  PORTLAND.  —  PUT  IN  AT  LIVERPOOL.  — 
HOME  AGAIN.  —  CONCLUSION. 

THINGS  went  on  so  smoothly  and  pleasantly  at 
St.  Petersburg  that  I  took  no  note  of  time.  Six 
days  had  already  slipped  by  before  I  began  to 
think  of  making  a  further  move.  There  were 
no  American  ships  at  Cronstadt  when  I  arrived, 
but  I  was  told  that  there  were  always  opportu- 
nities till  the  last  of  November  to  obtain  a  pas- 
sage to  England,  so  that  I  felt  quite  easy.  Just 
as  I  commenced  preparations  for  starting,  how- 
ever, war  was  declared  between  Russia  and 
England,  and  all  foreign  ships  left  Cronstadt. 
I  now  thought  it  doubtful  whether  I  could 
obtain  a  passage  to  England,  but  I  made  all 
haste  for  the  port,  to  make  a  trial,  at  least. 
Mr.  Booldakoff  gave  me  a  letter  to  the  harbor- 
master, the  Consul  one  to  his  Vice,  the  Messrs. 
Cramer  one  to  Messrs.  Belfour,  Ellah,  &  Co.,  at 
Elsinore.  With  these  I  took  leave  of  my  St. 


141 


Petersburg  friends,  and  started ;  but  when  1  ar- 
rived at  the   Mole  I  was  quite  discouraged  to 
find   that   there   was   not  a   merchant-vessel  in 
sight.     I  called  on  the  Vice-Consul,  but  he  knew 
of  no  way  to  help  me.    Though  thinking  it  would 
be  useless,  I  determined  to  present  my  letter  to 
the  harbor-master.     He  read  it,  and  after  a  little 
reflection,  and  a  number  of  questions  about  my 
journey,  said  that  I  had  better  go  down  to  the 
Mole  head  with  him,  and  see  what  could  be  done. 
We  found,  on  inquiry,  that  there  was  one  soli- 
tary vessel,  a  small  galiot,  lying  at  anchor  below 
the  Tolbeacon,  about  three  miles  off.     She  was 
bound  for  London,  and  he  thought  I  could  get 
a  passage  in  her,  if  I  were  willing  to  try ;  at  the 
same   time   he   offered   to   send  me  aboard.      I 
jumped  at  the  proposition,  and  told  Parker  to 
get  our  goods  and  chattels  into  the  boat  as  soon 
as  possible.     Thanking  the  harbor-master  for  his 
assistance,  I  started  off  for  the  galiot.     She  was 
a  small  craft,  of  seventy  or  eighty  tons  burden, 
loaded  with   tallow.     The    skipper  was  a  little 
old  Dutchman,  short  of  five  feet  in  height,  and 
a  mate  and  cook  composed  his  crew.     I  asked 
him  if  he  would  take  me  as  passenger  to  London. 
"  Yaw,"  says  he.     "  And  will  you  let  my  man 
work  his  passage  ? "     "  Yaw,  goot,"  says  he.     I 


142 


paid  the  officer  of  the  boat  for  his  trouble,  and 
he  left  us.  Being  now  at  leisure,  I  began  to 
look  round  to  see  what  kind  of  a  ship  and  accom- 
modations we  had  got.  She  was  rather  a  flat- 
bottomed  vessel,  carrying  lee-boards,  to  keep  her 
from  drifting  to  the  leeward  when  sailing  by  the 
wind.  I  questioned  the  skipper  about  the  pro- 
visions, and  he  believed  that  there  were  enough, 
such  as  they  were.  The  cabin  was  a  trunk,  so 
called,  above  the  deck,  abaft  the  mainmast,  in 
which  there  were  two  boxes  with  slide-doors. 
One  was  his  berth,  and  the  other  the  mate's. 
He  informed  me  that  I  must  sleep  with  him, 
and  my  man  must  turn  in  and  out  with  the 
mate.  I  thought  this  a  fair  arrangement,  and 
so  we  settled  it. 

It  was  morning  when  I  went  on  board ;  and 
after  dinner,  which  consisted  of  beans  and  buck- 
wheat pudding,  we  got  under  way.  The  wind 
was  light  but  favorable,  so  that  we  crept  along 
down  the  Gulf  at  about  the  same  rate  we  used 
to  go  in  our  little  Russian  vessel.  The  weather 
was  moderate  and  the  sea  smooth,  and  after  so 
much  land-travel  I  enjoyed  the  change  very 
much.  We  continued  to  grope  along  until  we 
reached  the  island  of  Bornholm,  in  the  Baltic. 
Here  we  took  a  westerly  gale,  which  would  have 


143 


put  a  stop  to  our  progress  if  we  had  not  fortu- 
nately got  under  the  lee  of  the  island,  and  con- 
tinued sailing  from  one  end  to  the  other  of  it 
for  two  days,  when  the  gale  abated,  and  the 
wind  changed.  This  enabled  us  to  continue  on 
our  course,  so  that  on  the  13th  of  November  we 
reached  Elsinore.  Here  I  presented  my  letters 
from  the  Messrs.  Cramer,  and  was  kindly  re- 
ceived by  Messrs.  Belfour,  Ellah,  &  Co. 

Though  the  galiot  was  detained  by  contrary 
winds,  as  long  as  there  was  no  alternative,  I  con- 
cluded to  stick  by  her ;  but  on  the  second  day  I 
was  standing  on  the  pier  and  looking  up  the 
sound  towards  Copenhagen,  when  I  saw  a  ship 
coming  down  with  a  large  American  ensign  fly- 
ing, at  the  sight  of  which  my  heart  leaped  right 
up  into  my  throat.  I  waited  until  she  came  to 
anchor,  and  then  called  a  shore-boat  and  went  off 
to  her.  She  proved  to  be  the  Mary  of  Portland, 
Captain  David  Gray,  and  was  homeward  bound. 
This  was  joyful  news,  and  affected  me  so  deeply 
that  I  could  hardly  tell  the  Captain  my  story. 
At  last,  after  making  known  who  I  was,  and 
from  whence  I  came,  I  asked  him  if  he  would 
take  me  as  passenger,  and  he  readily  consented. 
I  went  immediately  to  the  galiot  to  settle  with 
the  little  Dutch  skipper.  To  the  question,  how 


144 


much  was  I  to  pay  him,  he  answered  that  he 
only  wanted  "Was  billig  1st,  das  ist  mir  recht." 
Not  knowing  exactly  what  that  was,  I  tendered 
him  twenty  Spanish  dollars,  with  which  he  was 
well  satisfied,  and  made  him  a  bonus  of  a  pair  of 
leather  breeches,  which  he  had  worn  ever  since 
we  left  Cronstadt.  Wishing  him  a  prosperous 
voyage,  I  took  my  leave  and  my  baggage  and 
went  on  board  the  Mary.  She  was  a  fine  ship, 
in  ballast,  and  had  a  splendid  cabin  for  the  times. 
The  captain  was  a  social,  clever  fellow,  and  we 
soon  became  well  acquainted.  We  left  Elsinore 
on  the  20th,  and  proceeded  down  the  Kattegat. 
When  we  got  down  as  far  as  Gottenburg,  we 
found  the  wind  blowing  in  heavily  through 
Sleeve,  which  obliged  the  pilot  to  put  into  Mar- 
strand,  a  small  port  in  Sweden.  Here  we  lay 
two  days. 

On  the  24th,  we  put  to  sea  again.  We  passed 
the  Naze  of  Norway,  and  steered  for  the  Ork- 
ney Islands;  but,  owing  to  adverse  winds  and 
stormy  weather,  it  was  the  2d  of  December  be- 
fore we  got  through  Fair  Isle  Passage.  We 
then  encountered  a  series  of  westerly  gales,  in 
the  course  of  which  it  was  discovered  that  one 
of  the  ship's  rudder-braces  had  worked  loose. 
It  was  deemed  unsafe  to  pursue  our  course 


145 


across  the  Atlantic,  and  Captain  Gray  accord- 
ingly altered  his  course  for  Liverpool,  where 
we  arrived  on  the  15th.  This  was  a  great 
disappointment  to  me,  particularly  as  my  pecu- 
niary resources  were  exhausted,  and  I  saw  be- 
fore me  unavoidable  expenses ;  at  the  same 
time,  I  had  no  relish  for  the  storms  of  a  north- 
ern passage  and  a  winter's  coast.  I  reconciled 
myself,  however,  with  the  prospect  of  seeing 
England ;  and  as  Captain  Gray  offered  to  supply 
me  with  money  until  I  reached  Portland,  I  was 
quite  content.  I  went  with  him  to  a  boarding- 
house,  where  we  remained  while  the  ship  was 
undergoing  repairs.  In  the  mean  time,  I  made 
myself  acquainted  with  the  city  and  its  envi- 
rons. At  the  end  of  two  months  the  Mary 
was  ready  for  sea  again,  and,  having  taken  on 
board  a  quantity  of  salt,  we  sailed  on  the  7th 
of  February.  We  had  a  pleasant  voyage,  and 
arrived  at  Portland  on  the  25th  of  March. 
Here  I  settled  with  the  Captain,  to  whom  I 
was  indebted  for  my  passage,  board,  and  sundry 
loans,  the  whole  amounting  to  the  sum  of  two 
hundred  and  fifty  dollars.  I  gave  him  a  draft 
on  Mr.  John  Park,  of  Boston,  and  it  proved 
quite  fortunate  for  him  that  I  did  so.  His  own- 
ers had  failed  just  before  our  arrival,  and,  as 

19 


146 


they  were  indebted  to  him,  he  would  have  been 
a  loser  but  for  this  draft. 

You  may  suppose  that  I  started  with  as  little 
delay  as  possible  for  Bristol.  I  arrived  there 
on  the  1st  of  April,  1808,  and  thus  terminated 
an  absence  of  three  years  and  eight  months. 
In  two  years  and  six  months  from  the  time  of 
my  departure,  the  owners  were  in  receipt  of 
the  proceeds  of  the  voyage,  which  resulted  in  a 
clear  profit  of  ONE  HUNDRED  THOUSAND  DOLLARS. 

I  have  now  reached  the  end  of  my  story; 
but  before  I  lay  down  my  pen,  let  me  say  a 
word  more  of  the  friends  mentioned  in  the  pre- 
ceding pages.  I  continued  in  the  Eussian  trade, 
in  which  I  had  made  so  successful  a  beginning, 
and  returned  to  St.  Petersburg  in  1809.  It  so 
happened  that  I  found  Dr.  Langsdorff  and  Lieu- 
tenants Schwostoff  and  Davidoff  there.  The  lat- 
ter two  gentlemen,  since  we  last  met,  had  been 
engaged  in  the  war  with  Sweden,  and  had  be- 
come honorably  distinguished.  While  I  was 
visiting  the  Doctor,  they  came  over  to  pass  an 
evening  with  us,  and  we  sat  talking  of  old  times 
until  two  in  the  morning.  They  then  started 
for  their  own  lodgings,  which  were  on  the 
other  side  of  the  river.  LangsdorfF  and  myself 


147 


accompanied  them  to  the  drawbridge,  which 
was  open  for  ships  to  pass  in  the  night.  Our 
friends,  therefore,  passed  over  a  plank  which 
lay  from  the  bridge  to  a  vessel  in  the  river 
and  regained  the  other  side  of  the  bridge  by 
another  plank,  calling  to  us  and  wishing  us 
good-night,  when  they  were  safe  over,  and  we 
then  went  back  to  our  quarters.  The  next 
morning  we  received  the  melancholy  intelli- 
gence that  two  naval  officers  had  been  drowned 
in  the  Neva  during  the  night,  and,  upon  fur- 
ther inquiry,  we  learned  that  they  were  our 
friends.  After  we  had  parted  from  them,  they 
became  desirous,  God  knows  for  what  purpose, 
to  return  to  us  again,  and,  in  order  to  get 
over  quicker,  they  attempted  to  spring  from 
the  bridge  upon  a  bark  that  was  going  through. 
They  mistook  a  sail  for  the  deck  of  the  vessel, 
and  both  fell  into  the  water.  The  people  in 
the  bark  endeavored  to  rescue  them,  but  the 
night  was  so  dark,  and  the  current  so  strong, 
that  they  went  under  before  they  received  any 
assistance.  Though  fifty  years  have  gone  by 
since  the  death  of  these  young  men,  I  cannot 
forbear  to  recall  their  many  virtues  and  lament 
their  untimely  end. 


GWO 


